Zoids: New Century Nova
by DensetsuVII
Summary: The Zoids Battle Commission has over 1000 registered Battle Modes in its repertoire, but less than 1 percent see regular use. Enter Sao Ensiné, the Warrior set to challenge anyone and take any challenge, as long as it's NOT in 0982.  Fullsize cover image link in chapter 1.
1. Chapter 1: Invasion in the Blind

Disclaimer: Zoids is the property of Takara Tomy Co. Ltd. and Hasbro. Zoids New Century Zero was produced by Studio Avex. Characters detailed here which not featured in the Zoids New Century Zero series are of my own creation, and they may be reused under condition of attribution.

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><p>Full Size Cover Image: on deviantart - Username Densetsu27<p>

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><p>Zoids: New Century Nova<p>

Chapter 1: Invasion in the Blind

A majestic cliff burst into flame and rock; the resultant rubble pummeled the Steel-Grey Molga unit perched below.

"Argh!" The pilot cried out as his internal computer reverted to static and the fatal words: Command System Freeze.

The mechanical voice of the judge rang out across the rocky battlefield: "Team Stormgrey, Molga unit – out of the battle! One Zoid unit remaining!"

The pilot slammed his fist to his computer. "Crap! Damn spiders! Sorry, Renz, I couldn't hold 'em. It's on you now!"

Renz responded calmly over the intercom. "Don't worry, they may've taken down your Molga, but I'd like to see their cowardly attempts at tactics take down this Gojulas of mine!"

The grey painted dinosaur-like Zoid cast an imposing silhouette against the bright blue sky. Its custom-built 90 mm cannons scanned the horizon for a target, as its black feet sunk ever so slightly into the granite rock supporting its 230-ton weight.

"Come out you damn spiders! Get your just desserts!" Renz fired a round into an opposing mountain, hoping to scare his opponents out of hiding. He began speaking on an open channel. "I don't blame you for staying away! This Gojulas is the prize of our Stormgrey team – one hit from its cannons won't leave any arms to beg for mercy!" Another shot. "Come now? Doesn't anyone want a little lead souvenir?"

BAM! A shot at the Gojulas' feet.

"Shit! Where are they?" He fired off his beam cannon in desperation as the Gojulas spread its legs to avoid tripping – too late.

WHOOSH! Rubble bursted out behind.

"Surrounded me – the bastards!"

BLAST! A direct hit to the side torso sent the Gojulas crashing into the rock.

A cold voice rang out over the intercom.

" They sunk all that money into a piece of crap like this? I've never seen a Gojulas so pathetic." Crawling around a nearby mountain, a green-legged Cannon Spider advanced on the toppled dinosaur.

"Now now, Feros! Don't blame the Zoid for the pilot's problems! The man just doesn't have a clue in the world how to pilot the thing." Another cannon spider, black and silver, moved straight towards the wreckage. "Still, that was a hell of a shot there Heiden! Good placement."

The final spider, of white legs and orange body, advanced from the side, accepting implicit credit for the toppling blast. Inside, its pilot swept back his parted brown hair and grinned. "It wasn't that impressive."

"Well I suppose it would've been harder if the guy actually moved!" The black spider responded. The three moved into close range of the sparking, downed Zoid, savoring the moment. The black spider chimed in again. "So, Warrior, feelin' like callin' it so we can leave your Gojulas with some semblance of a skeleton? Or shall we formally blow your ass to kingdom come?"

That was the moment.

"Hyaaaa!" Renz yelled. The wreck rose just a slight bit off the ground, lunged at the black spider. "Crusher Claws!" The black claws of the Gojulas ripped into the spider's legs, severing 2 from its body and forcing the spider to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" The black spider pilot exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Feros, the green spider pilot, backed off.

Heiden aimed his cannon at the dinosaur and delivered a crushing, final blow.

The Gojulas pilot smiled and sighed as his computer let off the telltale high pitch of defeat.

"Battle over! Battle over!" The Judge's voice rang out. "The winner is… The Arachno Team!"

The black spider pilot slammed the controls of his immobilized spider. "Son of a bitch wasn't downed! That bastard!" The Judge continued unfazed, as oblivious to the Warrior as the Warrior was to him. "Congratulations Arachno Team, on your win! Until the next battle!"

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><p>Slam! The black spider pilot thrust his empty cup down onto the table. "Hey! A refill dammit! You call this service?"<p>

Heiden sighed. "Hey don't take it out on the waitress, Wain. It's just a little repair! The prize money'll cover it."

"Pfft. If we go out west where it's cheap and wait a week maybe! You really think we can get a rush job done around here for the 220k we got from the Commission? On my custom built Cannon Spider? Dammit… Guess we're on break awhile."

"We could ask Mesa to join for a bit." Heiden interjected, shrugging.

"Are you kidding? She's just broke up with what's-his-name; probably not in the best of moods. Urgh…and we were on such a good streak too…" He slammed the table again. "Dammit why'd that punk hafta cut my legs off! They can never just die…"

"Maybe you shouldn't have got so close. " Feros chimed in as he sipped his own drink. Wain pushed the cup, spilling in Feros' face.

"Like you weren't right there with me. I was just unlucky…" He continued swearing under his breath as a waitress finally produced another drink for him.

"Sorry I didn't get him earlier." Heiden grunted.

"What are you talking about Heiden?" Feros nudged him. "You're the best shot I know! You been takin' em down left an' right the last few weeks, that's for sure."

Heiden shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe that's the problem."

"Huh?"

"You ever get that feelin' like you stayed in one place too long? Like things are getting too easy, too normal? And ya-"

"Hah! I call that getting' good Heiden!" Feros slapped him on the back.

Heiden chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

At this point a new face, fresh from convening with his two teammates across the room, approached the table.

"Hey, aren't you the guys in the Arachno team that's been takin' all the wins round these parts?"

Wain was hassling the waitress and Feros trying to dry himself off, so Heiden felt obligated to speak. "Who wants to know?" The man responded.

"A fellow Warrior looking for a challenge." Feros turned to the man.

"Well listen bud, if you wanna challenge us, you gotta be in B class or higher, first of all. And we fight in the Rocasna Mountains northeast of here. If you're alright with-"

"We're not taking challenges right now." Wain interrupted, reminding his teammates of his predicament and eliciting corresponding embarrassed looks. "Unless…" He looked up from his drink. " You wanna add 200k to the winning pot." Feros tried to hide his confusion at the new stipulation and the specificity of the number. Heiden realized immediately that a rush job on the Cannon Spider would be covered evenly by around 190,000 BP plus the reward money they'd already had, meaning that an extra 200k in the pot would effectively negate the cost of repair.

The man looked irked. "…Let me talk it over with my team." He walked away. The Arachno team watched his retreat.

"He won't be back," Wain declared and returned to his drink. His teammates did likewise.

In the shadows, a young man stroked his chin. He was clad in a blue and red trench coat, lined with black, and bore equally black hair with streaks of brown, shaped in a way that was organized but clearly not combed. Dark blue sunglasses obscured his eyes, but not his calculated grin.

He stood up, and adapted a slow, deliberate pace as he walked towards the Arachno Team. The team saw him before he arrived – just as he'd wanted. He came to the table and stopped. The group stared him down for a few seconds. He spoke.

"That last match must have been brutal on your black Cannon Spider." Feros ground his teeth. Heiden considered grinning at the man's bluntness. Wain stood and made to speak, but not before the man continued. "I'll repair it for you. I'll give you the money in full, up front."

Wain paused. Feros eyed the newcomer and even Heiden looked curiously upon him. After some thought, Wain spoke.

"And the catch?"

"Just a battle."

"Oh…" The group's postures relaxed as they exchanged cautious but encouraging looks. The man spoke on.

"Just a few rules."

"Hey! Don't you-" Feros interjected, but Wain motioned against and turned to the stranger.

"Go on." he said.

"I've heard you like to battle in the Rocasna Mountains. That's fine. Now since I put money up front, I'd like to increase the pot, say putting in an additional 300 thou on each side?"

The sideline tables eyed the spectacle and the room quieted. The cautious glances of the Arachno team surged with excitement and approval. They smiled.

"'That all?"

"Just one more thing." He leaned in on the table to emphasize the point.

"We'll fight in the battle mode 0925."

"0925?" Heiden wondered aloud.

"Invasion in the Blind. You know it?" The stranger asked. Heiden shook his head, slowly. His teammates housed equally puzzled looks.

"I can explain it if you don't want to look it up in the Commission Database."

"No, that's fine." Wain broke his team's silence. "We accept."

Muttering came from the sideline tables.

"Alright then." The stranger smiled as he handed over a small red-tinted business card. "Give me a call with an estimate for the damages, and I'll have the Commission set up the match." Wain took the card – it read "SAO ENSINÉ – Zoid Entrepreneur" above a video-call number.

"Alright, Mr. Ensiné. We'll see you then." Wain pocketed the card as they shook hands. The Arachno team stood silent as they watched their benefactor-enemy walk away, giving them ample ability to hear the conversations going on around them.

"Sao Ensiné? I never seen him fight. Is he new?"

"I heard he's been wandering the continent for awhile, but I heard he always fights in obscure battle modes, so the mainstream networks don't broadcast his fights."

"Why would he do that?"

"No clue."

"Hey, let's lobby the local network to show it!"

"Now there's an idea! Arachno's been on a hot streak – it might just work."

"This is one match I gotta see…"

Sao left the restaurant to its devices, never imagining that the simple idea of broadcasting his match would change his battling career forever.

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><p>The battle day was cloudier than usual, but that didn't cast any shade on the mountainous battlefield. The gray peaks shone jagged and sharp as ever in the midday sun, since the area chosen was miles away from the site of the destruction of the Arachno Team's previous battle. No winds, low humidity. A good day for a fight.<p>

As per the 0925 Battle Mode regulations, the 3 members of the Arachno team were stationed around 3 kilometers away from each other in randomized positions stipulated by the Zoid Battle Commission, whose exact coordinates had not been given. For the moment they remained able to talk.

"So are we going in as normal or what?" Feros asked.

"Look," Wain stated, "We're going normal as soon as we find each other. 0925 is a blind match, but if we do get in visual distance of one another, the restriction on our comlinks to unidirectional won't matter and we'll be able to coordinate again! So just stay alive and move till you find someone. And if you find _him_ during the shooting portion, shoot everywhere so we'll move in. Don't worry! This guy's just some smug, rich-boy amateur. He actually paid for the repair – he's not gonna pull some kinda bullshit trick after all that. Hell, I sorta like the kid. Maybe we'll leave him a little dignity when we're done."

"Hey, that thinking's what lost your legs the last match." Feros chimed in. Heiden chuckled under his breath.

"Pfft. Point is, we don't need to watch for dirty tricks, and he's never even competed in a televised match – how good can he be?"

"Hey guys!" Heiden called. "Judge's here."

Above, a white streak in the sky confirmed Heiden's observation. It slammed into the top of a mountain peak and let out a great cloud of dust. At the very tip, the shine of the ascending capsule evidenced the Zoids Commision Judge's presence, and his voice soon rang out onto the battlefield:

"The area within a 15 Kilometer Radius is now a designated Zoid Battleground! Only Zoid Commission Personnel and Combatants have authorized entry! Danger! All unauthorized persons must vacate the area immediately!"

Wain cracked his knuckles. "Alright, here we go!"

"Is that Sao guy even here?" Feros switched to an open frequency. "\ Sao Ensiné, are you on the battlefield?"

"Ready and waiting, gentlemen." Sao responded. "Thank you again for accepting my offer under these conditions."

"Here's to a good match." Heiden chimed in.

"Well put." Sao responded.

"Heh! You may not feel so polite once we beat you down!" Wain exclaimed. Sao chuckled.

"May the best Zoid win." He cut the line.

The judge spoke out. "Battle teams confirmed present and registered. Final scan for unauthorized persons..."

The crowd at the Zoids Diner was abound with high fives at the sound of even these vague words. Their mission to get Sao's unorthodox match broadcast had born fruit enough to cram the diner to capacity (aided in part by the usual lunchtime deals) and led to a good deal of bets on and off the table regarding the prospects. But now the room went quiet as the judge proceeded.

The battlefield too fell silent.

"Area scanned! Battlefield set up! The Nova Team versus the Arachno Team! Battle mode 0-9-2-5!" The black screen of the judge's face lit up with the electric green of the four numbers dictating the battle mode; his raised his red and blue tipped hands.

"Reaaadyyyy?" The Arachno team's expressions hardened as the local broadcast networks zoomed in on the action.

"FIGHT!"

The com-screen in Heiden's cockpit went black and his speakers faded into muted static. Heiden nodded to himself and moved his white and orange Cannon Spider forward.

He recalled the lecture Wain had given yesterday, following some hasty research undertaken after Sao's repair payment had gone through. He remembered Wain's awkward reading of notes more than anything, but he strained to focus on the words.

"Battle Mode 0925 is a 3 on 1 weighted blind match… We start spread out, and once we begin, we lose radar data and we're only allowed to use unidirectional communication, meaning if we can't see each other, we can't talk and vice versa. Our enemy has limited local radar to compensate for the numbers disadvantage. Now a stupid team would charge ahead and seek him out individually, but that sets him up for the one on one matches where the odds are at best even. We just need to get in communication range and then do what we always do – surround and conquer. We'll move towards Position A1000, that small abandoned well on the other side of the large rock. That should be simple enough."

Heiden scanned the surrounding mountains – he knew every crevice by heart. That was the real reason why they fought here; it was only half because of the lucky streak they'd had. It was so familiar it was almost sickening. But for all the times he'd fought there, he couldn't remember when he'd last felt a rush like this. There was something about peering through the cracks in the mountain walls, looking for friends and foes, that was more exciting than running by them or even running through them.

He shook his head. Back to the fight.

He took an old shortcut into a well-covered ridge, and climbed ahead.

From within a well-cooled cockpit, Sao mused to himself as he watched the locations of his enemies flicker in and out on linear paths toward a central landmark.

"Battle mode 0925 was originally adapted from a combat exercise meant to simulate stealthy intrusions into enemy territory during the ancient wars – a literal invasion, into unknown territory, without communication satellites." He gently pried the controls of his Zoid, a Trinity Liger painted in indigo and gold, which crawled slowly down the mountain slope.

As Heiden's Cannon Spider made its way to a large ridge blocking the view of his meeting point, his comlink began flickering in. He turned to it.

"Hey! Can you hear me? It's Heiden!"

"—eidn?—That you?—" Heiden smiled at Feros' voice,

"Feros! Stay where you are, I'm at the mountain behind the rendezvous point! I'll try to get into a better area."

Sao's radar had lost two of the invading team, though Sao had committed their last positions to mind. Furthermore, one dot shown clear.

"Success on the part of the invading team hatched on their own teamwork, and their plans once in the field. A plan that didn't utilize their superior number was bound to failure. And blind reliance on their numbers was equally hopeless. But the most hopeless of all was a team whose plans were easily read…" He clicked a trigger.

"Ah! Heiden! I'm under attack!"

"Return fire Feros! Where is he?"

Feros fired three shots off of his back mounted cannon, into the air, the ground and the mountain.

"I dunno! It was just one shot! Where the hell is Wain?"

"Feros?" The familiar, yet new voice spoke over.

"Wain! Get over here! He found me!" Feros yelled

"Feros?" Heiden called, "Where's Wain? I can't hear him!"

"Wain where are you? Heiden can't hear you. He's behind the rock near A1000."

"I'm right on the other side of him, tell him that. I got you in my sights man! Just wait for him to attack again and we'll have him!"

The three scanned the ridges for the attacker but he was nowhere to be seen.

BOOM! A blast ripped through the air.

"Where is it!" Feros called.

"Above!" Heiden exclaimed.

BAM! Another shot dug into the ground a few tens of meters from Feros, who backed away wildly.

"Damn is he a crap shot… If this is his best, we have nothin' to worry about! Just gotta get into a sniping match and we're in the homestretch!" Wain mused.

"Feros!" Heiden yelled. "He's in the cliffs above and to your right! I'll get off a shot! Tell Wain!" Heiden peeked out from behind the rock, trying to spot the cliff the shots were fired from.

Wain also scoped in on the surrounding area, as he tried to move into the rocks for a better vantage point. "If he's just gonna harass us, all we need to do is find him, trap him with the rocks, and move around him nice and slow. A few shots should coax him out." He aimed at the Cliffside and scoped in.

WHOOSH! A blur of blur leapt from the rocks.

"Shit!" Feros yelled, "It's him! That dark blue liger! He's headed straight at me!" Feros moved away back into the rocks behind.

Wain rushed towards the battle zone. "Crap! He was just making us think he wanted to snipe us! He planned to get in close the whole time! I can't get a good angle from here…"

Heiden aimed his cannons and made a few shots. The Liger was too fast – a single Zoid's barrage couldn't hit reliably. It raced by without a scratch and disappeared into the rocks behind.

"My shots are nothin' to this guy." Heiden muttered. "Crap..." He scowled, "I revealed my position! I'm moving around!" Heiden declared as he shifted his Zoid around the large rock.

Wain made his way past the other side of the same rock. " Feros! You alright?"

"Yeah! He just ran right past me! What was he thinking?"

"Don't worry! We all got him in our sights now! If he comes again all three of us will have him down and out!"

From his cockpit, Sao grinned, imagining the dialogue on the other side of the battle. " A plan readily deciphered is a plan for disaster." He pushed the Liger movement controls and leaned in.

"There he is!" Feros cried. The Liger made a beeline towards the mountains on Wain's side. "Fire! Fire!"

The two cannon spiders together took a few moments to adjust their aims, but soon were laying down a respectable barrage at the Liger.

"Where does he think he's goin'? He'll run straight into the side of the rock! Wait… Feros! Stop firing!"

"What?"

The Liger pounced off the rock and belted in a new direction as Feros' shots struck the rock and sent it teetering over towards Wain.

"Shit!" Wain yelled, scrambling away from the falling obstacle.

Meanwhile, the Liger was now set straight for Feros.

"Damn! Stay away you bastard!" He shot a few times but the Liger changed elevation too quickly as he moved up the slope at the Cannon Spider.

With a great leap, the Liger's hardened alloy claws ripped straight into the helpless spider, ripping into its back mounted cannon and sending its body proper reeling down the hill.

"Arachno Team, Unit 2 – out of the battle!" The Judge proclaimed.

Sao wheeled around to face the newly revealed Wain.

"Shit! Gotta shoot him down before he gets his damn claws on me…" Wane began aiming his cannon, but not before Sao aimed his.

BZZT! The Trinity Liger's Twin Beam Cannons bore massive strikes into the Spider's legs, toppling it over and ruining Wain's shot.

"Aaagh! Damn!" He quickly reamed. "It's not over! Those cannons have a recharge time of 10 seconds at least! You're mine!"

The Liger crouched as it fired its smaller beam gun, which ran through the air into the pitiful, legless Zoid. Wain got off a single shot which missed the Zoid completely, before his spider bore the brunt of the attack.

"Arachno Team, Unit 1 – out of the battle!"

Heiden sat sweating. The Judge's announcements were the only broadcasts he could hear from his spot in the narrow ridge walls. "He lured us into one spot so he could pick us off easier? Maybe he'd just seen us fight before and knew that we'd move that way? Either way…" He smiled, "This is one crazy Warrior."

"Hey! Heiden!" Wain called out. "You can hear me right? They said in the rules that downed members get access to all frequencies so we should be able to at least talk now! Don't get cocky! We totally misread this guy! He's got crazy aim with a beam cannon and a deadly strike with his claws! You're our best aim! Stay in the ridge behind where the rock was – mebbe you can sneak a few shots!"

"You idiot!" Heiden yelled. "You're broadcasting on all frequencies! Now he knows exactly where I-" He stopped.

At the entrance to the ridge, where the rock once was, he appeared. The dark blue of the Trinity Liger, golden lines outlining a majestic visage – staring down the corridor. Heiden frowned, turned off his communicator, gripped his controls firmly. The Liger stood still, examining his final prey.

"HYAAA!" Heiden fired a round of the cannon. The Liger leapt over it and ran forth. Heiden dug his Cannon Spider's legs into the ridge wall and climbed, shooting as he went. He went for the Liger's feet, but even if he'd hit, the Liger's momentum would put Heiden in attack range. "One chance, Spider!" He yelled. "Point blank!" He leapt forward into the Liger's path, charging his cannon, and when he was no more than 3 meters away, let fly.

The resulting dust cast the scene into obscurity. Heiden checked his Cannon Spider – no damage. Then peered at his monitor – had he hit the Liger? Stunned or even miraculously destroyed it? He smiled. He turned on the broadcast frequency.

"You made one mistake. You got overconfident and rushed me in this narrow ridge where you had nowhere to run. You should've sniped me from the entrance rather than try to show off with your Hardened Alloy Claws."

The dust cleared. Heiden gasped. The light pink of an energy shield shone through the dust. Sao answered Heiden's bragging.

"You're right, strictly speaking, I should have attacked at the entrance, but that would give you a lot of dust in which to escape if I somehow missed. If you hadn't been so overconfident and moved away when I stopped to activate my energy shield, you may have dragged this battle on another 5 minutes or so, if you were clever."

The shield vanished and the liger's vents began to give a yellow glow.

"But now I have you at close range and your cannon isn't aimed right because of the angle at which you attacked."

Heiden saw – he could still fire! He moved to aim.

"Too late! " The yellow glow expanded into flame and the liger leapt forth. "Photon Cutter!"

ZZAP!

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!" The Judge proclaimed.

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><p>"I don't take disciples." Sao replied.<p>

"Please! I've…I've never had a rush like that before!" Heiden got on his knees.

Sao shrugged. "That's because you always fight in battle mode 0982."

"Then I- I want to learn the modes you use! Please, teach me!" Sao was somewhat taken aback by this notion. Wain used the opportunity to push through the diner crowd surrounding the combatants of that afternoon's battle and grab Heiden by the shoulder.

"Heiden! You can't just up and leave our team! What are we gonna do with two fighters?"

"Ask Mesa! Like I said. She's always wanted to join you guys, you just never noticed. Ask her! She's right there." He pointed to the girl, who was staring starry eyed towards the back of the crowd, then turned back to his newfound mentor, who was lost in thought.

"You… Want to learn the other modes?" Sao said, hesitantly.

"Yes! Please, Mr… Mr. Ensiné! Master Ensiné!"

Sao sighed. "None of that master crap." Heiden looked up, and with two short sentences, Sao set into motion a journey not even he could anticipate.

"I'll come by your camp tomorrow. You better be packed."


	2. Chapter 2: Hidden Core

Chapter 2: Hidden Core

"0990 series." Sao said, more as a statement than a question, as he watched the radar of his Dragoon Nest Zoid (modified to hover over land), as it coasted through the mountain pass.

"990's, uh…" Heiden racked his brain for the answers he'd spend the last few days with Sao memorizing. "Generally unrestricted, battle numbers either unlimited or in odd number sets… Last mode, 0999, has no safety or combat restrictions and isn't sanctioned by the Commission."

"Good." He pressed a few buttons on the console and continued his friendly interrogation. "0920 series."

"Uneven team numbers with handicaps." The answer came quickly, befitting the one battle mode he'd committed to mind – 0925, the mode in which his previous team had been destroyed. "3 modes in 3 v 1, 2 modes in 2 v 5, 3 more in… uh…"

"1:2 ratios. Remember, several of those you mentioned aren't strictly team numbers, but rather team number ratios. A match in battle mode 0924 could technically be 1 on 3 or 2 on 6, etc. Don't forget that."

"Uh, right." Heiden was very sure he would forget that.

"0940 series."

"Uhh… Dynamic weapon sets?"

"No!"

"Aaa!" Heiden shuddered away, expecting Sao to grab the nearest thing that could be lifted and smack, as he'd done in the days before. When such blows didn't come, he opened his eyes. Sao had moved to the door connecting the Zoid bridge to the hall. He called out as he walked away.

"We're landing at this outpost to fill ourselves up."

"Oh! Great! I could use something to eat!"

"I meant the Dragoon Nest. Eat from the fridge if you're hungry. It's cheaper and we have nothing new to celebrate."

"Huh? Oh..." Sao disappeared behind the closing automatic door. Heiden sighed, and turned to his one remaining companion on the bridge – a seemingly omnipresent, humanoid robot who Sao called Josef. "Is he always this way Josef?" The robot glanced up from his work polishing the floor, paused for thought, and returned to his work, leaving Heiden to reflect on his situation in solitude.

* * *

><p>"Hey! You're that guy who fought that 1 on 3 battle the other day aren't you?" Sao paid little heed to the distinctly unpleasant odor of the man who'd walked up from the other side of the rest-stop and now stood next to Heiden and him. Undaunted, the man continued. "Do you only have one unit in your team? I got a lot of experience and I don't charge too much if you get my meaning."<p>

"What experience do you have?"

"A good 5 years in a Rev Raptor, and-"

"Not what I meant. What battle modes have you fought in?"

"Oh! Uh, 0982, 0983, 0988-"

"Not interested. Thank you."

"Hey! You can't just tell me off just because I battle in the same modes as every other person in the league!"

"It's my team; I'll do what I want."

"Do you seriously expect to never fight a match in 0982? And how will you ever recruit anyone else if you only take people who've fought in these weird-"

"I take recruits when they come. And the only circumstance under which I fight in 0982 is when the money on the line exceeds all the wealth you've probably ever had." The man spat and walked away. Heiden watched as he nibbled on the chips he'd found on sale in the local store. He tried to gauge Sao's reaction before he spoke; failing again to see through his blank expression, he decided to speak his mind.

"You know… He does have a point. You aren't gonna find many people who fight in the low number modes."

"Well you're here aren't you?" This was the closest thing to a positive reaction from Sao Heiden could recall.

"Well, about that… Why did you-"

"Hey!" Another group approached – three men and a woman; being something of a more pleasant sight than the last stranger to approach, Sao gave an acknowledging nod. The leader of the group, a man of short, dark blue hair, spoke out.

"I'm Tran Veiz, and we're the Veiz Team. We've been challenging the teams around here but we haven't found anyone up to our level. We saw your match the other day though - very interesting. We'd like to challenge you. Any mode you want."

Sao smiled.

"Name a time and place."

"Well, if your units are in good- oh wait, you only use one unit don't you? Well if it's in good condition we can go tomorrow, if the commission approves it."

"Noon tomorrow then. And no one said I only use one unit."

"Heheh. alright. What mode?"

Sao's joy at the question was visible.

"Battle Mode 0944 – the so-called 'Hidden Core' mode." The Veiz team tried to hide their lack of knowledge, but at the same time, they showed excitement at the prospect of the match. Sao continued, "It's a 4 on 4 battle; I assume you have enough Zoids?" The team's looks turned to grins. Hands were shook. And the next battle was arranged.

* * *

><p>Noon the next day – mildly overcast. The battle had been set in a valley between two lightly forested, rocky hills sloped towards each other, separated by a shallow river. The Veiz team had assembled a black Madthunder, a blue Geruder, and a silver Megatropos on their front lines, covered behind by the woman of the group in a grey Gun Sniper behind. Barely visible on the opposite hill, Sao sat in his indigo-gold Trinity Liger. Behind him, two Snipe Masters, painted in the same palette as his Liger, and Heiden, now piloting a Grey Thundercannon.<p>

"You alright back there?" Sao called to Heiden.

"Yeah, yeah it's fine."

"Okay you just do exactly what I told you. Nothing – NOTHING – fancy. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah."

A great rumble in the ground and a rising plume of dust from a high eastern peak signaled the arrival of the Zoids Commission Judge Capsule; the familiar robotic voice soon followed.

"The area within a 25 kilometer radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield! Danger! All unauthorized persons must vacate the premises immediately!"

The local outpost was alive with business. Word of the next, strange match from Team Nova had spread quickly, as had the news that only the outpost, and the previous rest stop to host Sao's match were showing the battle. Once again people crowded the room, some just looking for the next battle, some looking to make some quick cash, and a slim few came to see battle in a strange, new battle mode.

"Area scanned! Battlefield set-up! The Veiz Team vs the Nova Team! Battle mode 0-9-4-4! Reaadyyyyy?" All eyes were on the judge.

"FIGHT!"

Team Veiz's units began to converse, starting with their leader, Tran. "Alright guys, one more time from the top. In battle mode 0944, each team selects one of their units to become the 'core unit'. The core units can't use projectile weapons, and neither team knows which unit the other team chose as their core. The team that downs the other team's core unit first, regardless of how many other units that team has left, wins. In short, we just need to take down Nova's Core unit and that's game." The team members nodded. Tran continued. "Laura? Wind good? You think you can support?"

The Gun Sniper pilot responded. " All systems go, Tran. Anything that moves, I'll shoot it down."

"Good. Luke? Dreik? Stick close to me; don't go out of visual contact. We'll guard each other from his assault and cross our shots so he can't see who's not firing." The Geruder and the Madthunder roared. "Right!" The two responded.

"OK! Let's go!" The Megatropos began moving ahead, followed closely by the two other Zoids. The three triceratops types advanced down the hill, using the upturned rocks for limited cover as they approached the river which divided the field.

"So Tran?" The Geruder asked, "Which of their units should we be aiming at?"

"Isn't it obvious Dreik? He's giving himself the core unit status! He only registered two human Warriors – so he's either controlling those Snipe Masters by remote or with robots. And the other guy is the same person he beat just last week! Clearly he'll be the hardest to down. He'll take the core unit status and harass us with melee attacks."

"Tran!" The Gun Sniper called. "He's coming!"

"Thought so. Form up! Take corners! Fire on sight!"

The Liger moved high speed straight into the river. The gun sniper took aim and fired its AZ 144mm Sniper Rifle. The shells splashed into the water but missed the Liger.

"It's not the Gun Sniper…" Heiden muttered to himself as he watched.

As Sao advanced, he spotted the shots out of the corner of his eye. "Snipe Master Units, advance to position 44-1 and acquire enemy Gun Sniper." He flicked on his com channel. "Heiden, follow them and keep in formation."

"R-right!"

"I'm going in. Watch!" Heiden paused his Thundercannon to observe the distant blur of the Trinity Liger advance toward a certain conspicuous rock.

"Sorry Tran! I couldn't hit him! I have to reload."

"No problem, Laura! Just leave him to- there he is!" Tran yelled. "Fire!" Gatling spray and cannon shells cast the hillside into rubble as the Liger flew past the group.

"Gatling spray…" Heiden mused. "That must have been the Megatropos. So it's the Geruder or the Madthunder…"

The Liger dashed behind some rocks and hid from the spray. A robotic voice came over the comlink – not the matter-of-fact voice of the Judge, but a placeholder female voice from the Snipe Master Mainframe.

"Snipe Master Units Alpha and Beta, movements complete. Target acquired."

" Excellent." Sao proclaimed, "Snipe Master units, turn to aim at target. Alpha Unit! Fire M&N AZ 144 mm Sniper Rifle at target! 5 rounds!"

"Acknowledged." The Snipe Masters turned mechanically and pointed their tail guns across the valley at the enemy Gun Sniper.

BAM! BAM! BAM! The left unit fired off rounds. The first laid a solid hit on the Gun Sniper, toppling it. The second and third shots missed.

"Dammit! I'm under fire!" Laura called.

"Get out of there Laura! Find cover at the right. That Liger's stayed still just a little too long for its own good!" The Gun Sniper limped off desperately towards the rocks at right.

BAM! The Snipe Master's 4th shot scraped the back of the Gun Sniper. BAM! The fifth shot hit the ground, launching the sniper forth behind the rocks.

"It's not the Snipe Master, Tran!"

"Laura, there's two! If only one of them fired, it could technically be the other, but it's neither of them! It's the Liger!"

The Megatropos fired its gatling guns again, scraping the edge of the rock the Liger hid behind. Canon fire covered the other side and soon the rock was reduced to rubble. Sao quickly moved the Liger back in retreat.

"C'mon Sao boy!" Tran called on the open channel. "Gonna run away?"

Sao gave commands as he ran, "Snipe Master Units! Move 40 meters north-northeast! Target the 3 clustered units! Urgh!"

ZAP! An electromagnetic charge hit the back of the Liger.

"That's it!" Heiden cried before opening a channel to Sao. "Sao! That electromagnetic charge must've been from the Geruder! The core unit is the Madthunder!"

Sao smiled. "Good work Heiden! Snipe Master units! Fire at will!"

The blasts of the Sniper rifles ripped through the air like a pounding bass – the resultant explosions cast up more dust than damage, but it was enough to cover the Liger's escape.

BOOM! The right Snipe Master Unit exploded. "You didn't get me down completely!" Laura cried as she took another shot from her Gun Sniper, toppling the Snipe Master.

"Nova team! Non-core unit 2 – out of the battle!" The judge declared.

"Two more and he'll be cut off completely! And you can't adjust the attack angle before I fire again!" Laura aimed again.

"We'll see about that!" Sao yelled.

BZZT! The Trinity Liger's twin beam cannons pounded into the side of the Gun Sniper.

"Ahh!" Laura screamed as her Zoid fell to the ground with the telltale Command System Freeze Tone.

"Veiz Team Non-Core Unit 3 – out of the battle!" The judge declared.

"Wait!" Tran yelled, "But, you can't use projectile weapons unless- shit!" Sao grinned.

"Dammit! Everyone! Make for the river, full speed! Argh!" Another shot from the Snipe Master hit the Megatropos full on. "But that means-"

"Heiden! They've found you out! Move for cover! Leave this to me!"

"You got it!" Heiden moved the Thundercannon slowly back up the hill.

"Dammit! Luke! Target the Thundercannon at all costs! I'll guard Dreik!"

"Tran! He's coming!"

The Trinity Liger ran straight for the Madthunder, gliding past the rocks and trees like he was flying. "Alright Trinity Liger – we just need one good strike!" The Liger roared as its vents began glowing.

"Dammit! Running straight at us like we're done? Who do you think we are!" Tran cried out, moving to face straight towards the approaching Liger. "Aaargh!" He fired off all five of his frontal guns. The bullets ripped right into the Liger's face but the Liger moved onward.

"Tran! I see the Thundercannon! I almost have him!"

"Take him down!" Tran yelled as the Liger glowed yellow and continued into the hail of lead.

"Haaaaaah!" Sao yelled, forcing the Liger to make a grand leap, straight over the Megatropos and right into the face of the helpless Madthunder. "Photon Cutter!"

Buzzz! A loud tone rang out from the Judge capsule.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!"

* * *

><p>Still panting in his Megatropos, Tran leaned back and turned on the open channel. "Damn… Been a long time since I had a battle like that. A good one. So tell me Sao, why didn't you make yourself the core unit?"<p>

"I figured you'd expect it. A plan revealed is a plan for failure. Besides, it goes without saying it's safer to keep your vital elements out of the enemy's grasp. You did a good job masking your core unit's lack of fire with your formation. I couldn't see from the ground who was firing. Unfortunately, my cohort could tell which units were firing by the weapons. If you use this mode again, I'd consider using identical weapons or even identical units to confuse your enemy."

"Why didn't you do that?"

"If I used three Snipe Masters, I thought you'd get the sense I was showing off and that something wasn't right. And the last thing I wanted was for you to get suspicious before I already knew who my target was."

Tran closed his eyes. _Damn, this guy is just too far ahead. How has he stayed an unknown this long? I've just had a once in a lifetime battle…_

"Well I can't speak for my whole team…" Tran proclaimed, smiling, "But I think I'm gonna try and use this battle mode again."

The downed Madthunder pilot spoke up. "You speak for me bro! Just don't let 'em get me next time!"

The Gun Sniper pilot chimed in. "Yeah! I think I got the hang of this now!"

The Geruder pilot too spoke out. "We needta find people to fight this mode more often!"

Sao couldn't hide the smile on his face as he responded.

" Just what I've been wanting to hear. Hey Heiden! We're headed back to the outpost! Let's get some dinner."

"Oh sweet! Nothing like celebrating a victory with some grub."

"We aren't celebrating the victory you idiot!"

"Huh?"

Sao's voice was one of pure rapture.

"We celebrate the propagation of the older battle modes!"


	3. Chapter 3: Projectile Cat and Mouse

Chapter 3: Restricted Dynamic Cat and Mouse

"Sao?" Heiden asked.

"Mhm?" Sao didn't look up as he ate his curry. He'd been eating out quite a bit lately, as the two had moved from place to place along the outskirt rest posts. Heiden didn't quite believe he could be so happy merely because he'd inspired a single team to start fighting in a different battle mode, but he wasn't about to inquire into the reasons and ruin his amicable streak. He would use the opportunity though, if only to ask the other question on his mind.

"Back a few days ago, you told off that one guy who wanted to fight with us. Yet you let me join you easily enough. Neither of us had any experience in the different battle modes – why'd you let me in?" Sao swallowed and sighed as he stirred the sauce into his rice.

"That guy just wanted to ride the wave of fame that's trailing us. He would've fought in the different modes out of necessity. You wanted to learn the modes. I respect that. And I never turn down people who want to learn the modes, should they want to challenge me or want to, well, become my disciples I guess." He swallowed another bite. "You weren't lying were you?"

"N-no! Of course not. And I memorized the 940's after that match in the valley. They're all alternative victory conditions! That is, you don't have to defeat all enemies to win."

"Mmm! Good!" Heiden grinned. "This curry is really good!"

From the other side of the restaurant, a certain man made a confident stride towards the middle table where Sao stood. His characteristic yellow jacket with red coattails drew doubtful looks from the surrounding tables.

"Hey there!" Heiden raised his face from the table he'd pounded it down on, as Sao continued eating. The man continued with the catchphrase the entire room had to bite their tongues not to groan at.

"My name's Harry Champ! I'm a man destined to be king!"

"…Okay?" Heiden was unsure how to proceed.

Sao gobbled down a fresh spoonful of rice as he spoke. "Gwhaddu yu wannn?"

" I wanna hire you to help me out in a little fight I have planned. I heard you've been winning all over the place – everyone's talking about you! So I figured if anyone could help me destroy that little brat once and for all, it'd have to be you!"

Sao finally swallowed. "Who?"

"The Blitz Team! The stupid Blitz Team!"

"Oh I heard of them!" Heiden piped in, "They won the Royal Cup last year didn't they? Heard they'd been keeping a pretty good record in the S class."

"Yes, them! You have to help me beat them! You wouldn't be afraid right?"

Sao looked up, having now all but finished his plate. "What battle mode?"

"0982 of course."

Heiden held in a laugh, anticipating Sao's answer. He wasn't expecting what came next.

"It'll cost you." Sao's expression hardened. Heiden was puzzled, all but sure he would've refused.

"Name your price! I got more money than anyone you've been up against!"

Sao took a drink as he spoke. "70." Confused looks from around the table and the restaurant proper.

Harry's confusion evaporated first. "70? 70 thousand? No problem! You got a-"

"Not 70 thousand you idiot. 70 _million_." The confused looks around the room fell into shock.

Harry's voice made no effort to hide his own shock. "7-70 million? I could buy a hundred Zoids for that!"

"That's my price to battle in whatever mode you want. Oh, and I claim the money whether or not you win the battle."

"That- that's crazy!" He looked to the side and muttered to himself, "Even Dad doesn't have that much cash to throw around without a thought…"

"Hmph." Sao drained the rest of his drink.

Heiden looked less shocked and more curious than the rest of the room. "70 million… Sao, what would you use that for?" Sao looked to answer, but before he could, Harry spoke again.

"I got it!" The two seated at the table turned to him.

"Oh?" Sao asked, "Gonna pay after all?"

"No! I got a better idea." He pointed his finger into Sao's face in the most pointlessly dramatic way possible. "I'll challenge you Sao Ensiné!" Sao and Heiden eyed each other. Harry continued, " Any mode you want! And when I win, you'll fight under me against the Blitz Team!"

Sao's expression lightened ever so slightly. "And if I win?"

Harry was taken aback. "Well, uh… I'll add in 400 thousand to the pot!" Gasps from the side tables.

Sao was unfazed. "500." More gasps.

"Ughh… 450!"

"480."

"475!"

Sao clenched Harry's hand. "Deal."

Harry grinned. "Alright! I'll call the Commission today!" He began walking off.

"Hey!" Sao called.

"Hm?" Harry turned around.

"Be sure you set the battle mode."

"Oh, yeah! What to?"

Sao's characteristic grin shone once more.

"Battle Mode 0958 – Restricted Dynamic Cat and Mouse."

* * *

><p>SLAM! The judge capsule flung up thousands of pieces of dried rock as it crashed onto the field. The soil was parched and cracked, full of sharp elevations and depressions that could serve as cover, and block radar signals through their jagged outcroppings. The two sides could barely view the judge capsule as it rose.<p>

"The area within a 35 kilometer radius is a designated Zoid battlefield! Only Competitors and Zoid Commission Personnel have authorized entry! Danger! All unauthorized persons must vacate the premises!"

Harry and his robots Sebastian and Benjamin were piloting their usual maroon Iron Kong units. On the other side, Heiden stared down his barely visible opponents from the light blue cockpit of a white Heldigunner. Next to him, a Redhorn, ironically painted dark blue and gold. Some meters behind the both of them, Sao's Trinity Liger, now with an imposing 120mm beam cannon mounted to its back.

For the first time, the mainstream networks had decided to pick up the unorthodox match, and patrons all over the planet were tuning into Sao's battle. Most were unaware that the battle wouldn't be utilizing a normal mode and would soon be asking their friends what 0958 even meant. Only at the first two rest-stops, the second of which had affectionately renamed itself 'Cafe 0944", had the mangers realized they could please their customers more by telling them what was going on, and had posted large displays of the intricacies of mode 0958. But all around, there were rumors about a miraculous Warrior in these battles – one you had to see to believe. And soon enough, there would be a following devoted to doing just that.

"Area scanned! Battlefield set-up! The Nova Team vs the Champ Team! Battle mode 0-9-5-8! Reaaadyyyy?" The two sides grinned.

"FIGHT!"

"Okay Heiden. This one is mostly in your hands now." Sao declared.

"What, so you mean just go in blasting?" Heiden said, excited.

"You idiot! Have you forgotten how this mode works? Listen!"

Heiden paused and at that very moment, the Judge made a declaration.

"The Champ Team has initiative! 5 Minutes till initiative switch!"

Heiden laid down his head. "Right, sorry for being stupid."

"You should be, but don't let it get to you till we've won. I'll be moving the Redhorn behind you by remote. I need the practice. Don't worry 'bout covering me, but don't rely on me. And if I do get in a pinch, be sure you use it to set yourself up well."

"Got it."

"Let's go." The Redhorn began moving ahead, straight and calculated, and the Heldigunner advanced more organically, toward the battlezone, as the Liger crawled slowly off to the side.

"Alright guys!" Harry exclaimed to his robots, "We have the initiative! Let's go blast the heck out of 'em!"

"Harry, wait!" Called his robot, Sebastian, "We have to be careful! My databanks had indicated that in this Battle Mode, we only get to fire projectile weapons for five minutes at a time! Then we'll be helpless!"

"True enough Sebastian, but right now they're the helpless ones! When one team gains the offensive, the other is automatically prohibited to fire! And besides, you forget – we're using Iron Kongs! There's no way they'll be able to stop us even when they get their guns back again!"

"You tell him Harry! I know we got this one in the bag!" Benjamin chimed in before muttering "If only because the Blitz Team isn't involved, we may actually have a chance…"

"C'mon guys!" Harry yelled as he pushed his Iron Kong forward at top speed into the battle zone, "The man who will be King never loses!"

"To anyone who isn't named Bit-" Sebastian started.

"Do not utter that name in the presence of your future King!"

On the other side, Heiden advanced slowly under an outcropping, recalling Sao's advice on the battle mode the previous day. He had dragged Heiden into the Cargo Bay of the Dragoon Nest to introduce him to the Heldigunner unit, but had quickly moved to his thoughts on the match itself (not that this was an unplanned or unanticipated chain of events).

"0958 isn't called Cat and Mouse for nothing." He'd started. "The teams alternate offence and defense. Well, defense isn't quite the right word – recon perhaps. At all times, one team has their projectile weapons disabled and the other has them active. They switch roles every 5 minutes, and the switch is abrupt. Towards the beginning of the match, the main thing is to find the other team. If we start with initiative, we'll want to get off a few pot shots, then retreat before they follow us. And if we start on recon, the last thing we want to do is sit around waiting for the initiative to change. We need to find them, then stalk them. If we're in shooting distance when the initiative switches and they haven't noticed us, we'll be just where we want to be. Even if we're caught, we have our melees to get in close."

At that point his eyes got a certain, now recognizable look. "We'd really only have to worry if we'd gone through in 0959 – _absolute_ dynamic cat and mouse! There we have no weapons melee or projectile when we're on recon! Really gets your blood pumping, let me tell you. Figured you wouldn't be able to handle it quite this early though, so…"

"Heiden!" Sao of the present called out. "You see 'em? My Liger's radar shows them nearby." Heiden inched out from behind the outcropping. Sure enough, a bunch of dark red ape Zoids were kicking up an absurd cloud of dust as they advanced across the field.

"Oh yeah. They're kicking up a storm running this way…"

BAM! A barrage of anti-zoid missiles hit just on the other side of the outcropping.

"Shit! Did they find us?"

"Stay calm." Sao moved the Liger a little closer and kept his eye on the remote feed from the Redhorn.

"C'mon out Nova Team! You can't hide forever!" Harry smashed the triggers on his Iron Kong, launching missiles left and right.

"Harry! We can't waste all our ammo now!"

"If we don't get them in the open now, we won't have a chance to fire later! C'mon guys! Hit everything in sight!" The dust the impacts kicked up soon obscured the Zoids from Heiden's view.

"Damn! Sao, I can't see anything here! Should we move back?"

"You're the one on the ground. Whatever you feel is right." Sao responded, his eyes darting between the Redhorn's clouded visuals, and the rising dust in the shimmering in the distance through his Liger's cockpit.

"Alright, then I'm move- ARGH!" The Heldigunner took a harsh hit from above.

"Harry! I think I got one!"

"You're seeing things, Benjamin!"

"No Harry, look! I can see the shadow there!" Indeed, the endless barrage had, by shear luck, decimated the outcropping shielding Heiden, and a further random missile had found its target and let off a bit of flame – enough to show through the dust.

"Wait you're right! That's it! Take this, Nova!" Harry launched his 10-shot Rocket Bomb launcher in Heiden's direction. Heiden desperately retreated into the dust.

"Damn! They got me Sao!"

"Alright, just keep moving a little longer. Keep them in your sights." Sao pushed the Liger gently forth, watching the enemy fire past his left side. "Redhorn unit – move back 60 meters full speed, and adjust aim 15 degrees left." The Redhorn backed up, mechanical but quick.

The Heldigunner, meanwhile, couldn't escape the assault of the three Iron Kongs – all Heiden could do was move into the smoke of the assault and hope it wouldn't clear. He grit his teeth as the dust cleared.

"Alright my little friend! It was a good run!" Harry shouted into an open channel comlink. "But now your time is up! Fire away boys!"

"5 Minutes elapsed!" The judge declared.

"Huh?"

"The Nova Team has initiative!"

"Wha! But wait- no!" Harry tapped his triggers repeatedly, but they only elicited a hollow error tone and the message "Function Locked" on his Zoid's computer.

Heiden snickered. "_Dynamic_ Cat and Mouse - that's the name of the game, _Champ_!" He clicked his triggers and his ARZ 20 mm double barrel beam cannons bore into Harry's Iron Kong in a flash of sparks.

"Ah! R-retreat! Get back!" Harry yelled.

"Roger that Harry!"

"Let's get out of here!" his robots screamed back.

"Redhorn unit," Sao stated, coolly, "Fire AEZ 20 mm Beam guns, and Anti-Zoid Triple Barrel Linear Cannon!" The Redhorn fired off, straight into the incoming Kongs, which hadn't seen the Redhorn before.

"Crap! We're surrounded Harry!"

"Don't be stupid Benjamin!" The other robot called, "We'll just go back where we came from!"

"Yeah, yeah! Good thinking you two! C'mon, let's go!" The Kongs began moving back past the remains of the outcropping, bearing the assault from all sides.

"Dammit!" Heiden scowled, "I'm hitting every strike! How are they still alive?"

"Relax Heiden." Sao had taken his sights off the dust clouds, settling behind and to his left. "They're Iron Kongs. Their tuning's horribly inefficient, but those thing's have had serious dough sunk into them. Just hammer 'em as much as you can for now. Don't let up, don't fall back. The Redhorn will probably go down after this, so make the most of the time."

"Go down?" Heiden bit his lip. "Alright then… Dance you damn apes!"

He pushed forward with the Heldigunner, firing his guns until the barrels started steaming.

"Ahh! Go away! Benjamin! Hold them off!" Harry yelled.

"Me? Why! How?"

"Use your Hammer Knuckles Benjamin!" Sebastian exclaimed.

"Hm? Oh right!" Benjamin wheeled around his Iron Kong, as his cohorts ran onwards, and made straight for the Heldigunner. Heiden raised an eyebrow, but didn't stop his approach, or his firing.

Benjamin yelled on the open channel. "Didn't think I'd try a close range attack did you?" He lunged forward at the Heldigunner and yelled, "Iron Hammer Knuckles!"

Heiden dodged. He avoided the swing easily, leaving the Kong half buried in the ground. "Damn it all! It's not that Iron Kongs don't have melee capabilities!" Benjamin cried in anguish, as Heiden aimed. "They're just too slow to use them!"

"One mouse down." Heiden clicked the trigger – an error beep appeared. Heiden gasped. "Is it time already? No, it's too soon- what?" He looked at his screen and gasped.

"Heh…Hahahah!" Benjamin laughed, "Looks like you're out of ammo!"

"You idiot!" Heiden replied, watching his screen; the barrels had overheated to the point where the safety systems prevented further firing. "I overheated!"

"Oh, well, uh, I'll just let you cool off a bit then!" Benjamin cried out as he pulled his Iron Kong out of the ground and ran.

BAM! BAM! BAM! "Ahh!" Benjamin yelled. The Redhorn's AEZ 20 mm Beam Guns landed a series of solid hits on the Kong, finally, piercing its leg armor and casting it down.

"Heiden! Get out of there! Time's almost up! I'll finish off this one."

"Uh… roger that!" Heiden moved back as the Redhorn moved in.

"Hey! Isn't two on one a little unfair?" Benjamin called out.

"Well," Sao proclaimed, "It's just you and me now. So no problems then?"

"Umm. Heheh?"

"Redhorn unit! Fire high pressure concentrated sulpheric acid powder cannon!"

"Aaah!" The point blank attack flung the Kong back and left it reeling in static.

"Champ Team unit 3 – out of the battle!" The Judge called out.

"Nice work Sao!" Heiden called. Sao grinned, then frowned as the judge made another announcement.

"10 minutes elapsed! The Champ Team has initiative!"

"Yeah!" Harry's voice ran out over the open channel – it wasn't even clear if he was aware of it any more. "The Champ is back, baby! Let's route 'em, Sebastian!"

"You got it Harry!" The two ran back over the jagged hills, firing an assault of dozens of anti-zoid missiles was too much for the Redhorn, which soon keeled over.

"Nova Team unit 3 – out of the battle!"

"Damn… Just like you said Sao. Now what?"

"Now, Heiden… You run in circles."

"What?"

"Run circles around them, keep em in the same area. Make sure they can see you, but whatever you do, don't let yourself get downed."

"Sao…"

"Hm?"

"That's the stupidest advice I've ever heard!" Sao rolled his eyes. "Run in circles and don't die? How the hell am I supposed to do that!" Sao sighed.

"Just hold 'em off another few minutes. I'm almost ready." He stared down the dust clouds now almost directly left of him again.

"A few minutes? They're gonna keep initiative for five! Now you're just lying to my face! Do you even have a plan-"

"Heads up."

"Huh? Argh!" Sao restrained the urge to grin as the Kongs found their target.

"There you are you darned Iguana! Eat missile!" Heiden pushed the Heldigunner to its limits of speed. He tried to weave in and out of the smaller outcroppings, but the Zoid wasn't that agile and soon he was dashing straight ahead. "Come back here!" Harry called.

"Heiden. Turn around." Sao called, almost mockingly.

"They're right there!" Heiden exclaimed.

"Not all the way around, just circle them! Don't give them any excuse to get out of that central area."

"Oh yeah, easy for you to say- not like you're the one with his ass in their reticles- Wait where are you anyways?"

"Putting you all in my target reticle."

"What's that supposed to-" Heiden fell silent. Sao chuckled.

"You get it now?"

"So that's why you've been so removed from this one…"

"Now you're catching on. Give me a few more minutes."

"Alright!" Heiden switched to open channel. "Hey Losers! You call this a barrage? Feels like a little afternoon rain!"

"You're the losers here! And you haven't seen anything yet!" Harry called out. "Sebastian! Don't hold anything back!"

"Roger that Harry! Eat anti-zoid missiles Nova scum!" The Kongs began their full assault and soon Heiden began having second thoughts about his taunt.

BOOM! A hit in front. BLAM! Another just behind! WHAM! A solid hit to his high cannon left the Heldigunner reeling, and its main projectile weapons totaled. The Kongs surrounded him.

"Hail to the Champ!"

Heiden groaned. "Just kill me, please. It'll be faster."

"With pleasure!" Click! "What? No! It can't be time already!"

Heiden laughed. "It's not, you dumbass!"

"Huh?"

"You finally did it. It took 2 entire Iron Kongs almost 10 minutes of continuous fire, but here you are." Harry realized just before Heiden spelled it out, "You're out of ammo!" The Kongs backed away as the Heldigunner crouched. "C'mon, Champ! Just try and attack close! Why you might even hit me this time! Or my Heldigunner's strike claws might get a piece of your empty silos. Shall we give it a shot?"

"Urgh! Quick Sebastian! Back to the Whaleking!"

"Way ahead of you Harry!" Sebastian's Iron Kong had already begun its retreat.

"Wait up! You can't reload my Iron Kong if I'm not there!"

"Who said I'm reloading _your_ Iron Kong?"

"Sebastian! Ugh. Fine, let's just get mov-" He stopped.

Standing right in the way of the Kongs, directly in front of the path to the Whaleking and opposite the Heldigunner – Sao eyed the Kongs in his cannon-ready Trinity Liger.

"No way! He's been moving around us the whole time?" Harry cried out.

"Well, not the whole time. I've spent the last four minutes adjusting my aim." Sao mused on the open channel.

"Wait- four… Crap! No! Sebastian! Run-"

"15 Minutes elapsed!" The Judge proclaimed, "The Nova Team has initiative!"

"Let's go Trinity Liger!"

VOOM! The beam cannon cut through the air and slammed into the side of Sebastian's Kong. "You have a whole lot of money, Harry." VOOM! Another hit, into the same spot, even as Sebastian kept struggling away. "But you don't have the first idea about conservation, deception, or strategy." VOOM! VOOM! VOOM!

"Arrgh!" Sebastian called out as his right arm blasted off his Zoid, which flew, flaming, into the nearest rocky depression.

"Champ team unit 2 – out of the battle!"

VOOOOOM! A sustained blast right into the back of Harry's fleeing Kong. A beeping sound filled Sao's Liger cockpit. The screen read OVERHEAT. Sao ejected the Beam cannon and dashed forward at full speed. "Harry Champ, you're not worth my Photon Cutter. My Hardened Alloy Claws are enough for you!"

"Ahhh!" Harry turned back.

"Hey, glad you're back!" Heiden called. Harry gasped, realized he'd been trapped between the Heldigunner and the Liger.

Harry felt his heart racing. _I thought the only one who could give me this much of a run for my money was Bit and his crowd. This can't be happening!_

Heiden moved in, "Striiike!"

Sao attacked from the other side, "Hardened allooooy!" The two flew in from either side.

"CLAAAAAWS!"

BUZZ!

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!"

* * *

><p>"I never knew the battle mode could change so much. The Prince is humbled by your prowess!" Sao kept as indifferent a face as he could manage as Harry attempted to rationalize his loss to the entire group in attendance. "If I use modes like this, I know I can finally take down that horrid Blitz team and claim my beloved Leena!" Harry let out a sigh so sincere it sounded forced. Heiden let out an audible groan. "But first-" Harry pointed straight at Sao. "I challenge you to a rematch, Sao Ensiné!" Heiden face-palmed. "I wanna battle in another one of those strange modes! That's what you want right? Think you'd be ready tomorrow?"<p>

"…I think I'll just take the money."

"Oh…" Harry, seeing the cold looks, resisted the temptation to press the group and called for Sebastian to retrieve the 475,000 BP he had assembled.

As he handed over the cash, held in several large bags, he paused and looked as serious as he ever had that day. "Hey, can I ask a question before you go?"

"Shoot."

"You asked for 70 million before to battle in 0982 like I wanted. Why 70 million? Seems kinda random. Did you want to do something particular?"

"Ya Sao," Heiden piped in, "I was curious about that too."

Sao looked up, distantly. "70 million…" The group watched him closely. "That's how much it takes to build a stadium."

"A stadium?" Heiden asked.

"Yeah." He grinned, a subtle grin Heiden hadn't recalled seeing before. "It's my dream, to build a stadium out south of the wastelands. Get a new generation into the battles and such with regular battles…" The smile gained a hint of his normal manner, "All in the non-standard modes."

"Well," Harry interjected, " If you want, you can always use my stadium! Well, it's not mine exactly, but my Dad owns a majority stake in the stadium at West Renses! I'm sure I could get it so you could have whatever matches you wanted!"

"Heh. Thanks for the offer, but my stadium's gonna be mine and mine alone, at least at the start." He hoisted one of the moneybags over his shoulder. "Take care, Harry Champ. If you need help choosing your battle modes, call me up. Josef! Get these four bags, will you? Heiden, take those two. We're going."

The group moved back towards the carrier Zoid, and drove off swiftly into the distance, unaware, for better and for worse, of the true extent of their newfound fame.


	4. Chapter 4: Barbarian's Reign

Zoids New Century Nova

Chapter 4: Barbarian's Reign

A dark room, lit by a single screen. A familiar robotic voice rang out from the video console. "The Nova Team versus the Champ Team! Readyy? Fight!"

From the shadows of the room, a cultured voice inquired to a larger figure seated in front of the screen. "Is this what you had requested sir?"

"Yes. Now leave me be."

"Very good sir." The cultured man's footsteps and the opening of a door evidenced his exit. The man in the chair leaned forward as he watched the match proceed. He twisted his hair as he watched the Trinity Liger shoot down the opposing Iron Kongs.

"The winner is… the Nova Team!" The judge shouted out. The man turned off the screen, and grinned in the darkness.

"Terrance?"

"Yes sir?" The cultured man stepped back into the room.

"Invite him."

* * *

><p>"I got a strange question."<p>

"Do I look like an encyclopedia to you?" Sao answered, one hand on the Dragoon Nest Controls and one supporting his chin as he watched the path ahead through the bridge display. Heiden sighed.

"About battle modes?"

"Shoot." Sao turned his head to face Heiden sitting behind him.

"Uh… shouldn't you be watching the road?"

"That's a dumb question, and it's not about battle-"

"Not what I meant…" Sao grinned.

"I think I can drive a 2 mile straightaway while answering a question. What's on your mind?"

"See, I finished memorizing the list of battle modes you gave to me the other day…"

"Good."

"And I realized 1001, the Royal Cup Mode, wasn't on it."

"True. The 1000 series modes are all tournament specific, so they don't pertain much to us and I didn't make you memorize them."

"But I was wondering… Are there other modes besides the 1000 and 0900 modes? I mean, I've never heard of any but if there weren't, why would they start at 900?"

Sao leaned back in his chair, and gave a long sigh. "A very good question, with a complex answer. The Commission currently has a little over 100 modes registered for use in sanctioned battles and tournaments, but there have been a lot of rumors over the years that there are other modes in their databases, old modes that are no longer used or allowed. Now a few years back, before the last Royal Cup, the Backdraft Group engaged in a large scale hack of the Commission Database."

"The Backdraft Group?"

"You know, the guys who set used to set up unsanctioned battles for large prizes and tried to take down the Commission during the last Royal Cup."

"Yeah… I hear there are still some remnants that the Commission hasn't rounded up. I never knew they were interested in battle modes."

"They aren't." Sao's voice showed the slightest inflection of boredom at this. "They were looking for ways to hack the existing judges and satellites or something. I dunno." Sao looked back at Heiden again, eyes lit up, "But what they found was far more interesting: a list of battle modes – hundreds supposedly! Only a few snippets were ever released – it was used more as blackmail material. But the Commission also ended up releasing and endorsing a few of them over the past years. Mode 6690 for example – Target Storm."

"Oh yeah, I heard of that! They announced it last year, and my team considered using it, since we were all snipers. But no one wanted to battle in it, so we just let it be. "

"Exactly – all things told, it wasn't that exciting, but it _was_ one of the modes the Backdraft leaked as existing beforehand. Meaning that there are almost definitely hundreds more…"

"So why wouldn't the Commission release those modes? Does it cost money or something?"

"Well yes, but that's probably not the main reason. My theory is that some of the modes are legitimately arcane – using old standards and configurations that wouldn't make sense with today's Zoid technology. And then there may be some the Commission would rather not be associated with." Sao let slip a sort of dirty smirk. "Modes that conform to ethical standards that we would find unacceptable, things like that."

"Right."

"I mean they don't want to let it be known they once did things like that, but I don't really care! I just wanna-"

"Sao! Turn right!"

"Huh? Aaa!" Sao banked the Dragoon Nest just in time to avoid a large, dark cliff, and henceforth returned his attention fully to the controls. "Maybe we should cut this conversation short."

"Yeah… How much farther is it anyways?"

"Well scanner says- Hmm." The scanning window was emitting a subdued beeping and displaying a faint hexagon like pattern. Heiden leaned over to look.

"What's that? An energy signiture?"

"Large magnetic…Localized high temperature… In a hexagonal pattern- Hm. I don't like it. Heiden, go into the Zoid Bay. Start up the Snipe Masters, Thunder Cannon, Redhorn, Heldigunner, and Double Sworder, and prep them all with Thermal Relays."

"With what?"

"Thermal Relays. They redirect heat."

"What the hell is that gonna do? What's going on here Sao? And why prepare 6 units? The battle mode we agreed to only-"

"Just do it Heiden. We'll be at the battlefield soon."

Heiden frowned, but felt Sao's concentration and swiftly left the bridge.

Sao manipulated the dashboard to replay the battle invitation they had received the day before. The invitation had been delivered as a pre-recorded message from a Commission Judge. It had started with a text line declaring that, due to temporary downtime in the Zoid Battle Commission Network Relay, the message had to be pre-recorded, and gave an address to which to send responses. A judge proceeded to give a statement.

"Nova Team! You have received an invitation to battle the Nox Team in Battle Mode 0975! Battle Mode 0975 requires the use of 3 zoids from each team. The Battle is to be held at coordinates 453.88 A, and the surrounding 12 kilometer radius, as dictated by the 0975 Battle Mode. Please send your response to the challenge to the following address immediately so the Battle can be arranged."

Sao shut off the display, and sighed.

"Better prep the Brastle Tiger."

* * *

><p>The battlefield consisted of dark rocks and ashen wood, perhaps charred by a recent fire. Overall, the field was relatively flat, save for a few large rocks in the center. The sky was unusually cloudy, and the wind was picking up from the east, but storms weren't expected. Sao's Dragoon Nest sat alone on a flat plane with a good view of the proceedings.<p>

"Alright Sao, the Zoids are all equipped with the DERs. Now what?"

"Is your Cannon Spider still somewhere in the back?"

"Yeah?"

"Get in the Spider, but don't move out. I'll be joining you shortly in the Brastle Tiger."

"Wait, you're not gonna use the Trinity Liger?"

"Nope."

"What the hell's the Brastle Tiger gonna do anyways?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Sao! What the hell-"

"Shut up. The Judge is here."

In the distance, a pillar of smoke evidenced the appearance of a judge, but the characteristic white sheen of the Commission capsule did not appear. Instead, a black form emerged from the smoke and broadcast on all frequencies.

"Helloooo Nova team! This battle will be conducted by the Backdraft Group!"

From six points surrounding the field, a large, dark blue shield blocked out the sky above, and 3 black Deadly Kong units moved out into the open. A new comlink opened up to the Nova Team. The face on the other side was that of a blue haired man, eyes covered by a set up dark green shades.

"Greetings, Nova Team. I represent the Backdraft Group. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

"Indeed," Sao responded, "Your transmissions need work you know. That last one reeked of a set-up."

"Oh? What tipped you off?"

"Well, the resolution was shitty, the Commission always proclaims who they are, redundant though it is, before giving messages, and come on. You mentioned the battle mode 3 times. That's just sad."

"We wanted to be sure to get your attention."

A mildly annoyed, but quickly adjusting Heiden grinned at that line. "You got that part right. You should've seen him when he heard-"

"I don't suppose-" Sao interrupted, "You intend to do battle in the mode you so advertised?"

"Oh my! No, Mr. Ensiné! The very reason the Backdraft group has taken interest in your escapades is to see how you fare without your rules! Many of our clientele, great fans of your recent efforts, have informed us of their desire to place an appreciable amount of cash on the table to see you battle… Outside your comfort zone. I can assure you it will be worth your while. Should you win, you will be entitled to 15 times the standard commission prize money."

"And if he loses, there go our Zoids." Heiden grunted.

"Manners, Heiden. Sir, I have a proposal to make. Rather than tax the coffers of the infamous Backdraft Group, I would prefer to have a single question answered, thoroughly. If you answer this question upon my winning, I will compete, no money necessary."

"Quite generous of you Mr. Ensiné, but I'm afraid much of our clientele don't find the allure of knowledge quite as exciting as the-"

"Fine, give me five times the standard if I win, but I want a question answered. By your superiors if need be, I won't accept a yes or a no for this."

"…One moment." The link went to static.

"Sao! What's going on? We're gonna fight?"

"If he agrees, we will. I'll assume we'll fight in 0999, the Barbarian's Reign. If he doesn't we're forcing our way out of the field and contacting the Commission to report an unsanctioned battle."

"Can we even get out?"

"Shut up, he's back." The link faded in again.

"I have been informed that your demands are acceptable. Shall we proceed?"

"Please. Start any time." The man smiled and the link was disconnected.

Sao pressed a button labeled "Hatch" and began opening remote control links to the 6 unmanned units in the Zoid Bay, proceeding to move the two snipe masters, both equipped with dish-like thermal relays, onto the battlefield. At Sao's command, Heiden followed in his Cannon Spider.

The Dark Judge would surely have been grinning, had he a mouth, as he shouted out to the combatants: "Area scanned! Battlefield set-up! The Nova Team versus the Nox Team! Battle mode 0-9-9-9! Ready? Fight!"

"Thunder Cannon unit, Heldigunner unit, move 5 kilometers south! Redhorn unit, Double Sworder unit, move 5 kilometers south-south-east! Heiden! Move in and start firing!" The other four units, each equipped with a small energy reflector, came rushing out the back of the Dragoon Nest and dashed away from the opposing Deadly Kongs. Heiden nodded and began letting off a light barrage in the direction of the enemy. "Heiden! Don't be an idiot, hit them!"

"Seriously? You just expect me to blow them all away with every shot?"

"You need to keep them occupied!"

"Isn't that what the Snipe Masters are for?"

"No, they'll be leaving you as soon as you get to the center. You need to distract the Deadly Kongs!"

"…You're serious aren't you. One Cannon Spider against three Deadly Kongs."

"Move it!" Sao said summarily and tapped a spot on the ship radar. "Sniper Master units, advance 3 kilometers north alongside cannon spider! Heldigunner unit, move 5.2 kilometers south-south-west and acquire marked target A!"

The enemy Deadly Kongs moved swiftly across the dark ground, their pilots making no secret of their distain for their foe. "I see him Frank! Three, just like every other o' his battles!"

"Huh. The brat!" Frank responded.

"Wonda were dat Trinitee Laiga we been hearin' bout went." A third pilot, Dego mused.

"He's too scared to lose it." The first pilot, Jond piped in.

Heiden called to Sao. "Sao! I see them, they're running right at me! Get your Liger out here!"

"Sorry Heiden, I got other things to do – Red Horn unit! Acquire Target C! Helidgunner, aim relay to alpha coordinate preset! Heiden, the Snipe Masters will be leaving in a few seconds! Don't let 'em get hit, don't let 'em get followed!"

"Are you crazy! What happened to those other units? What are they doing?"

"Heiden, fire now! Snipe Master units, advance ahead, full speed!" The snipe Masters dashed off ahead of Heiden's Spider and broke off right and left of the approaching Kongs.

"Hey!" Frank called. "Where you goin?" he banked his Kong off to follow, and Heiden, half panicked, got a shot off. The Kong was sent tumbling, thought still functional. The other Kongs regrouped, and Heiden continued to fire as the Snipe Masters ran into the distance.

"Frank you alright?"

"Ugh! Where's that spider Dego? Kill it! Kill it!"

Heiden moved around and fired off more until the Kong ceased function at last.

"Huh, that wasn't too bad! These guys don't have a hint of strategy!"

"Heads up Heiden! They just deployed two more Kongs from an underground bunker a few kilometers away."

"What? How is that legal!"

"0999. Barbarian Reigns, anything goes. Stay alive out there – I'm goin' out."

"Ya think you could back me up?"

"No can do. Just maneuver around them. Stay out of range, those things have lots of claws. Snipe Master unit A, acquire target E and relay to alpha preset coordinates!"

"Sao! What are our units doing? Ahh!" One of the Kongs laid a shot from his Shoulder Shock Cannons close enough to toss the spider.

"That's what you get for downing Frank! Lou! That you over there?" A replacement unit approached from behind.

"You got it Dego. Man, these punks just never learn!" Heiden scowled and moved the spider around to route the group of Kongs, firing a few shots to cover his escape. The Kongs lost track, but not before the fifth Kong, approaching from behind, sighted Heiden and took a shot.

"Argh!" Heiden was tossed around. Seeing the Kongs crowd him, he didn't wait and proceeded to fire off shots before regaining balance. A few Kongs took the brunt of the attack at close range, but soon the Cannon Spider's Cannon Guns began running out of Liquid Hydrogen coolant, overheating the barrels and leaving Heiden surrounded.

"Hell claws!" The group yelled, scratching at the Heiden, who pushed his Spider forward at the last moment escaping through a gap, but losing his rear legs.

"Urgh!" He whipped the cannon around, and fired into the group behind him. The close vicinity pushed several back, and left Heiden concealed in a cloud of dark, powdery dust. He glanced around, counting the downed units. One from going after the Snipe Master, another from the first attack, two more from the last. But in the distance, two more appeared in their place, and now the cannon was definitely overheated and Heiden couldn't move. The reinforcements ran at Heiden and, flanking with their accomplices behind, rushed at the now helpless Heiden. "Iron Hammer Knuckles!"

"Aaaah!" The Cannon Spider exploded, and Heiden was flung out via the auto-eject function, landing, still in the now-detatched cockpit, on the ground below the towering Deadly Kongs gazing at the smoking remains of his Cannon Spider.

"You see punk, when you don't have your rules to help you, strategy is irrelevant!" The Kongs advanced on the cockpit itself, leaving Heiden to stare in awe and fear for his life.

"You tell em Dego!"

"Heheh! Your rules may be interesting, but the true battlefield needs only power and numbers to command victory! Guess this is one mode that's a little too hard for you Sao Ensiné!"

"Don't be so sure!" Sao's voice rang out on open channel. The Kongs looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Dego!

Then, from above, he appeared – Sao's Brastle Tiger, shining black with glowing blue veins, crawled over the edge of the rocky peak at the center of the field. "Good work Heiden! Just stay in that cockpit, and I'll finish this. Status report! All units!"

"Target Thermal Relay set-up completed." A computerized voice declared.

"Wait Sao," Heiden realized, "What are they…"

The Brastle Tiger began shimmering in the heat. "It takes a lot of energy to power a dome shield of this size. And a lot of power produces a lot of heat. I could see the six energy vertices on my radar making a hexagon before we got here for crap's sake! The Brastle Tiger has the ability to reroute heat straight to its Thermal Cannons, and at these levels nothing's gonna survive!"

The unmanned units, stationed at the six vertices of the shield, each aimed their relays to the top of the peak at Sao's Brastle Tiger.

"W-wait! Stop!" The dark judge cried out, "You can't do that!"

"I beg to differ, judge! This is Battle Mode 0999; I can do whatever I want!" The Tiger's console lit up with the message FULL HEAT. "And right now, I feel like blasting me some Deadly Kongs! Thermal Cannons – sustained, full burst!" The Liger's cannons let out a radiant blast that ripped into the ground around 3 of the remaining Kongs leaving their armor steaming and their command systems dead.

"It's not that I rely on rules as a crutch - the exact opposite in fact! Without rules it's all too easy!"

"Holy shit! Aaah!" The remaining Kongs attempted to run, but were decimated in the following blast.

"Gonna call the match judge?" Sao asked.

"Wha-n-No! There's still more units on the Nox team!"

"If you say so. Brastle Tiger, adjust cannon output – low density, maintain temperature." Sao declared as he turned the liger to aim at one of the enemy underground Zoid bunkers. "Sustained full burst!" The thermal cannon seared into the bunker doors, as yet another Deadly Kong emerged from the opposite bunker.

"Alright Ensiné! Say your prayers!" The pilot said.

"Urgh!" His companion replied via comlink.

"Gosa? What's wrong?"

"I can't get out! He seared the bunker doors shut!"

"What the- Dammit! Conn! Joan! Everybody in bunker A! Get out here!" He switched to open comlink. "What the hell is with you, you crazy bastard!"

"I'm no bastard!" Sao replied, aiming at the other, final bunker. "I'm a barbarian. And in this mode, the barbarian reigns!"

He laid out a final, overpowering shot destroying the bunker and every zoid in it.

"Ahhhhhh! Battle over! Battle overrr!" The panicked Judge exclaimed. "The winner is… the Nova Team…Ugh." It sighed.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations Nova Team." The representative said over the comlink. "5 times the standard prize amount has been deposited to the account of Ensiné Enterprises, and we are now prepared to receive your question." Sao nodded, as he guided the Liger down the peak.<p>

"I've heard the Backdraft Group is familiar with a document known as the Codex – a printed document supposedly detailing Zoid Battle Modes, now defunct. I'd like you to send me any and all the information you have on it."

"The Codex?"

"I realize it's more of a request than a question, but I hope you won't get held up on the formalities."

The man seemed puzzled at Sao. "Excuse me for a moment." He walked off screen, not bothering to deactivate it. Sao took his eyes off it and realized he'd made it down the cliff… Down to the wreckage.

"You alright Heiden?" he called down to Heiden, who had climbed out of his ejected cockpit to eye the wreckage of his spider, which was now further charred by Sao's plasma blasts.

"Yeah." Heiden called, not looking.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I really don't have enough people to make a strategy like that work well." He sighed. " I couldn't direct them all and…I lost control of the fight."

Heiden looked at the distraught Sao and grinned. "Well, the chaos is all part of that mode right?"

Sao grinned back. "Glad you understand."

"Mr. Ensiné? Are you there?" The man, it seemed, had returned.

"Yes?" Sao called.

"The Group has approved your request, as the Codex is of little interest to us. The extent of our knowledge is that most copies of the Codex have been destroyed, although we are in possession of a partial scan that, out of courtesy, we will relay to you now. The location of the remaining paper copies is unknown at the present time. Is this satisfactory to you?"

"Quite. Thank you." The man bowed and the screen disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5: Inertial Strike

Chapter 5: Inertial Strike

"Hey isn't that-"

"Holy- it is! Jim, get the camera!"

Sao, not expecting to be recognized by his silhouette from outside the restaurant, plowed through the front doors, Heiden in tow, little prepared for the sight that awaited him.

"Mr. Ensiné! Is it true you faced a member of the Backdraft Group in an unsanctioned battle last-"

"Ensiné! What mode will your next battle be-"

"Mr. Ensiné, the fans want to know! What is your favorite food?"

The sea of cameras and microphones together inhibited the ability of any one camera to get a clear image and any microphone to record a clear sound, but this didn't stop the pack of reporters, journalists, and paparazzi from leaping fervently at the most notorious Zoid Warrior this side of the Central Mountains. Sao himself made no effort to hide his pleasure at the copious attention being paid. Heiden made no attempt to hide his contempt for the attention being paid, but said nothing.

"Sao? May I call you Sao? Are you aware that the Zoids Battle Commission prohibits unsanctioned battles?

"That's the stupidest question I've ever heard! Mr. Ensiné, is it true you've memorized and battled in every Commission-sanctioned Mode?"

Sao grinned as he finally saw fit to speak. "Well…"

"Hey! Why is he answering you?"

"Get off me you tabloid scum! I was here first!"

"What's wrong with tabloi-"

"SAO ENSINE!" A loudspeaker-equipped woman shouted into the crowd. Sao, noting the close proximity of the mike to the speaker, quickly plugged his ears. "ARE YOU SINGLE?"

A screeching feedback loop filled the room, leaving the interviewers cringing and a somewhat all-too-satisfied Sao to sneak out of the crowd to the counter where Heiden had already settled down and ordered a glass of something clear and carbonated.

"Crazy ain't it Heiden?" Sao kept his voice down as he crouched behind the high-backed seats, "I wonder where they got word of the Backdraft battle… I'm thinkin' some of the ex-backdraft survivors from our battle spread the word. Just think of all the publicity the obscure modes will get from this!" Heiden drank silently, looking more distant than angry but not sure if that was how he felt. "Hey, what's up?" Sao glanced back at the crowd behind him, barely recovered from the shock of the sound, and now trying desperately to reacquire their subject. "Oh, is it them? C'mon, you gotta see the irony here! They're gonna get into the modes without even knowing it! They think they're interested in me, but it's the battle techniques that's getting them psyched up." He smiled as he thought aloud. "I enjoy that prospect."

At last Heiden cracked a grin. "You sure the fame isn't just getting to your head?"

"Of course it is! But that's besides the point."

Heiden chucked but soon returned to sulking. Sao looked puzzled.

"It's the Cannon spider." Heiden fainlly spoke.

"Ah." At once Sao understood, and sat down beside Heiden.

Heiden stopped drinking as he mused, " You think we'll be able to fix her?"

Finally starting to understand the situation, Sao reflected on his words carefully. "It's always hard losing a Zoid you've been with a long while. I remember when I lost my…" The memory of his own scrapheap all those years ago came flashing back a bit more painfully than he'd thought it would be, and he stopped mid sentence. Gathering his thoughts on what was important, he pat Heiden on the back. "You have to move on. You need to keep moving like nothing happened because if you stop, it'll be that much harder to get in the game again." Sao gasped. "Hey, I know just what'll cheer you up."

"Oh you gonna share your groupies? Don't worry Sao, no one's ever gonna ask for my name."

"No, don't be stupid! Something tangible!"

"Curry?" Heiden responded sarcastically.

"Good point. Sir! An order of house special curry please?" Sao turned back to Heiden, "No, even better-`"

"There he is! At the counter! Mr. Ensiné!"

Sao groaned. "See? Fame isn't all its cracked up to be." The wave of people and microphones approached again, giving Sao barely enough time to screech, "Scratch that order! Heiden, get somethin' quick to go, meet me at the Dragoon Nest!" before being completely surrounded and cut off from Heiden.

Heiden grinned and worked his way to the side of the counter to flag down the waiter, as Sao was pushed right onto the counter itself. Completely enamored with himself, Sao raised his hands and cleared his throat prominently. An awestruck silence filled the room.

"My favorite food is… Curry!"

The room burst into chaos, the questions became louder and less coherent and frantic scribbling joined the cacophony of sound.

"_Fame isn't all its cracked up to be_." Heiden parroted, unheard.

* * *

><p>Hours later, having finally gotten out of the restaurant and into the Dragoon Nest, Sao crawled into the bridge to find Heiden reclining his feet on the dashboard, munching on the remains of what must have once been a substantially large sandwich. "I- I'm ready to stop being famous now."<p>

"I see. Sandwich?"

A voice rang out outside the Dragoon Nest. "Sao Ensiné! Do you like your curry with milk?"

"Mr. Ensiné, do you like curry noodles?"

Sao collapsed into a nearby seat. "Can you make them shut up? Or at least get us out of here?"

"Well, no and… no actually."

"Huh?"

"Your groupies have surrounded the Dragoon Nest."

"What?" Sao walked up to the monitor controls and peered around. Sure enough, an assembly of Zoids, all inept but numerous enough to block the Dragoon Nest's ascent, had crowded the Zoid lot for the restaurant. Sao let out a long groan and slumped over to the navigation controls.

"You gonna plow through 'em?"

"And chip all the good paint? Nah. Just programming the route. Here, I'm going out in the Trinity. When they've mostly cleared out, activate the autopilot."

"What makes you think they'll follow you?"

* * *

><p>"My favorite color is dark blue!" Sao proclaimed over an open channel from the open cockpit of the Trinity Liger, before closing the cockpit and leaping over the over Zoids and dashing for the horizon. The pack of reporters followed after as if pulled by strings, and Heiden was free to start the Dragoon Nest on its tracks.<p>

Sao pushed the Liger to its limits, easily outrunning each Zoid, one by one. "Huh, I never took that sandwich…" he mused aloud. "Guess I'll double back after I get past these mountains-" Beeping from the dashboard interrupted his thoughts. A Zoid was approaching fast. The Trinity was almost at full speed. Sao brought up a view of his pursuer – a black Lightning Saix.

It pulled up alongside and attempted to open a com channel. Intrigued by its mobility and speed, Sao accepted. A wearied, older man with a diamond checkered headband covering long dark hair appeared on the other side.

"Sao Ensiné I presume? Your Zoid's speed is impressive." He proclaimed in a gruff, cool voice.

"Likewise."

"You seem quite a lucky Warrior as well, being challenged by the Backdraft Group right near a group of hikers who enjoyed battles enough to tell the Zoid press but weren't smart enough to know how to alert the commission to prevent the battle."

_So that's how word got out_, Sao thought. "What's your business with me exactly? You don't seem like you want an interview."

"I'm not the interviewing type." The Zoids broke apart from each other to avoid a large rock in the path, then continued running alongside each other, then continued talking unfazed. "I was wondering if you'd be open to a battle. Normally I work as a bounty hunter, but work's been a bit slow lately. I been looking for a decent opponent to pass the time. You're the hot stuff around here, what do ya say?"

"I say no, unless you're willing to go at it in a battle mode of my choice."

"What did you have in mind?"

Sao, now excited but having had nothing in mind, looked frantically for an idea. He found one in the speed dial, which was showing an impressive 270km/h. "Battle mode 0963 – Inertial Strike. There's a desert to the northwest that'll be perfect."

"Tomorrow evening then?"

"I'll send it to the Commission tonight. Oh! I never got your team name? Or your name for that matter." The man chuckled.

"The name's Jack Cisco. I'm with the Lightning Team. Until tomorrow, Ensiné."

He cut the channel, and dashed ahead of the Trinity Liger, far exceeding Sao's maximum speed, wheeling around a crevice in the rocks and vanishing from sight.

* * *

><p>Heiden awoke to find he had been drooling on his arm. The Dragoon Nest monitors flashed the message "ARRIVAL CONFIRMED", but the visual monitors were black. Sao's sandwich had disappeared from the dashboard and in its place was a note. "Eating in 3B. Do not disturb. –S"<p>

Curious at why the monitors had gone dark, after checking that they were on, and further puzzled as to where or what "3B" was, since it certainly wasn't in the Dragoon Nest, Heiden wandered out of the Zoid. He noted as he passed the internal hangar that neither the scraps of his Cannon Spider, not the Trinity Liger were present. Opening the ramp off the Zoid, he could sense from the lack of wind that he was indoors, but could discern nothing. He stepped off the ramp into the room.

A set of white lights clicked on. Heiden stood in a large hanger, at least 3 stories tall. Each tier housed an assortment of Zoids, several unpainted, and most wired to large fueling complexes, not fit to move. The Trinity Liger sat prominently in the center of the Hangar, caressed in a loose fitting support structure, giving the impressing of a royal pet resting on its master's throne.

This Hangar was Sao's.

A quick glance to the tiers, labeled B1, B2 and B3 made clear what Sao's note had meant. In particular, a set of halls stretched out of the third tier giving some clue as to Sao's whereabouts. Somehow, it didn't surprise Heiden that Sao had an entire hangar of Zoids, and after the day's events it barely annoyed him. Sao wasn't the sort to keep Zoids for the sake of having them – he most likely had a use for each one of these, perhaps some mode each was suited for. It was a purposeful collection, not one kept for the bragging rights, and that made it acceptable in his mind.

Suddenly it occurred to Heiden that his Cannon Spider was still unaccounted for. A quick glance around the room revealed a support structure larger than the Zoid it contained shrouded in shadow near the back of the Hangar. He ran toward it instinctively.

Surely enough, there was the Spider, propped up by more metal than its own body was made of – a comatose patient in an ominous stretcher. Heiden ran him hands across the dented armor, felt his hand grow dark with burned paint. He sat down beside his former partner, tried not to think. The room felt cold.

CLANG! One of the arms of the spider broke free of its hold and crashed on the ground. Heiden let out a defeated sigh and turned slowly to the arm, wondering if he should try to reattach it for the sentimental value. Upon the floor, the arm stretched out almost perfectly straight, broken beyond repair, joints distorted and in little shape to move, but in that moment, set as if to make the arm stretch out – to point. Almost naturally, Heiden looked to where the arm pointed.

Set further back in the wall of Zoids than the others, a dark space clearly large enough for a sizeable machine drew his eye. Before he'd realized it, Heiden had walked up to the space. No lights went on, but a small switch glowed prominently on the side of the wall. CLICK.

Rows of soft white lights sprung to life illuminating a moderately sized Zoid of unpainted grey armor and darker grey components. It bore the face of a defiant dog and large beam cannons mounted beside its neck. Its orange eyes peered forth past Heiden and the Dragoons Nest to a horizon only it could see. Etched into its collar armor were the words RPZ-12 HOUNDSOLDIER.

With the lights' activation, ladders extended from the sides to the cockpit. Heiden climbed up to the side, found a latch to open the Zoid, and upon trying, found an associated security system demanding a code. He grinned and took a seat on the ladder itself to eye the Zoid more. Heiden had never piloted a Zoid built for speed, but he knew one when he saw one. A 3 Barrel Burst cannon protruded prominently from its chest, just below the head. Below that, what looked to be a large, streamlined Buster Cannon, protruding equally straight almost like a jet turbine. Something about the way the legs angled back made it look streamlined, quick. It was almost intimidating. And yet, it excited him, tired him, lulled him to dream.

* * *

><p>"Heiden!" Sao called from below. Drowsily, Heiden raised his head from the side of the Zoid.<p>

"We have a match today. C'mon, let's get going." Eyeing the way Heiden looked at the Houndsoldier, Sao grinned. "You didn't seem like the type for fast moving Zoids."

"I'm not really. I've never piloted one before."

"Well it'll be useful in the battle ahead. I was thinking of taking it out myself, but I'd rather go in the Liger anyways. Move it onto the Dragoon Nest."

"What's the code to unlock it?"

A pneumatic hiss sounded off and the cockpit opened. Both Warriors were equally puzzled. Sao shrugged it off first and walked back towards the Dragoon Nest.

* * *

><p>WHAM! The hard rock where the judge capsule landed dulled the resultant dust, but didn't soften the shockwave.<p>

Jack's team members, Chris and Kelly turned their red Lightning Saixes toward the blast. "Jack," Chris asked, "Doesn't the judge seem a little far from the field today?" Her smooth brown hair slipped onto her blue jumpsuit from behind her shoulders as she leaned to have a better look at the dust cloud.

"As expected Chris. A judge wouldn't want to get too close to the action in Battle mode 0963…" He smiled.

The judge gave his proclamation, with a strange twist: "Warning, a Zoids Battle Commision Automated Weapons Capsule is inbound for this area. Now awaiting the arrival of the Weapons Capsule. Warning…"

"In a way, ladies," Jack leaned back into his already reclining, high-speed seat, "This battle mode is so suited to us, I'm embarrassed to have never used it. It's like Ensiné's bringing the ball to our court in a way."

"Is he mocking us?" Kelly asked, smoothing over her curled hair.

"I don't think so." Jack responded, "I get a good vibe from him. This could a battle to remember."

SLAMM! A larger object than the capsule hit the exact center of the battlefield. It had the texture of a judge capsule, but with far more extremities and sensors. As it rose out of the ground, panels slid back to reveal laser sights and missile silos.

The Judge spoke out. "Arrival of Weapons Capsule Confirmed. The area within a 50 kilometer radius of the Capsule is now a designated Zoid Battlefield. The current Battle Mode utilizes an automatic weapons system, which will fire on all Zoids in the area. All unauthorized personnel must evacuate immediately. Danger!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Sao in the Trinity Liger, and Heiden in the Houndsoldier, took the field alongside a robotically controlled, black and gold King Baron, armed with Side Missile pods and Accelerated Beam Cannons.

"Heiden?"

"Yeah?"

"This one's on you. Remember that."

Heiden nodded unsure as the Judge made the final announcement.

"Area Scanned. Battlefield set up. Weapons Capsule preset – 75 kilometers per hour. The Nova Team versus the Lightning Team. Battle Mode 0-9-6-3. Reaaady? FIGHT!"

* * *

><p>"Aaaaand welcome back, live from Café 0944, it's Mode Unknown! The show made to follow the unknown battle modes!" A slightly-too charismatic host announced from a podium mounted in the middle of the all-too emphatic crowd that had overcrowded the Café. "The action's just getting started down there, but Aly!" He said to his host, a woman who might have been dragged in out of a bank, for the relative lack of enthusiasm she showed. "You didn't finish telling our viewers out there about the battle mode!"<p>

"Perhaps I should begin again from the top."

"From the top then Aly! Go for it!"

"Well Allen…" She said as she snatched a class of vodka from a passing tray and smiled as the liquid slid down her throat. "Ahh… The Zoid Battle Commission reserves the 0960 modes for those involving armed non-combatants. In this case, the Weapon Capsule."  
>As the cameras showed, the capsule itself had now extended some meters above the ground, looking the part of a tower, prepped to destroy anything in its path, its profile outlined by the gray dust kicked up by the participants, all dashing wildly across the field.<p>

Ally continued, her manner loosening as she went on, "It's got all those missiles, see, and sensory equipment set to view the entire 50 kilometer field! The judge just set it! See, it's set at 75 kilometers an hour~!"

"And what does that mean for our viewers Aly?"

"If it stops moving, it goes BOOM!"

The Trinity Liger charged forth, King Baron behind and left, and Houndsoldier behind right. Barely visible on the opposite end of the field, the three Lightning Saixes formed a close group.

"What are they doin' Sao?" Heiden called.

"They're using the slipstream created by the front Saix's high speed to boost the speeds of the other two. It's not a bad strategy, but it does form a nice weakness – they have to stay together." Sao grinned. "Alright, you bear out to the left, I'll go in from the right. The King Baron will assault down the middle, and wherever they go, we'll be waiting."

"Gotcha. Whoa!" The Houndsoldier nearly tripped and Heiden started turning left. "What the hell! It won't turn!"

"You've never piloted something this fast before! Go gently! Gradually! But don't stop!"

"How am I supposed to-"

The ground exploded. The Lightning Team had gotten close enough to fire their thunderous pulse laser rifles. Luckily, their high speed inhibited their aim – it was more warning fire than anything, but they made their point.

"The King Baron's worthless. Go for the Liger!" Jack proclaimed.

"Right!" "You got it!" The girls responded.

The Saixes veered right towards Sao. "Me huh? Good taste. But you'll regret it! King Baron unit! Fire side missile pods!" The King Baron's computer let out a beep of acknowledgement and fired a set of crackling missiles towards the Saixes. The missiles kicked up a good bit of dust, but were too slow to hit their mark. The Saixes made for the Trinity Liger. Sao jolted the Liger forward, escaping their mark just in time, but quickly losing grip on the ground. He dug into the ground to keep from falling, then gasped.

He was slowing.

BEEEEEP. WHOOSH! The Weapons Capsule in the center of the field gave out a long mechanical beep and let out a single, roaring missile at the slowing target. "Shit!" Sao pushed the liger again, regaining his balance, but just too late. The missile struck just behind him, rocking the Liger and damaging its rear leg armor. Sao pushed through the impact, getting the Liger back up to speed, then glanced back at the radar. The Lightning Team, driving away at 250 kilometers an hour, had passed far behind him, and was slowly curving back for another run – far out range of any counterattack.

Another speck flew past on the radar. Heiden growled as he aimed the Houndsoldier's beam cannons. Three missed shots. "Dammit – how are you supposed to shoot when you're moving this fast?"

"Still piloting like a sniper huh…" Sao mused to himself, "A sniper can't win this battle. 0963 was modeled after incursions into heavily patrolled but automated enemy territory – it represented a hit and run attack. Sniping is the one thing you can't do here – you can't take you time. Heiden… Can't you see?"

"Whoa! Easy, easy!" Heiden felt his grip over the ground loosen from the speed, and pushed the Houndsoldier downward to stall its momentum, eventually stopping in the ground.

BEEEEP. WHOOOOSH!

"Aw crap!" Heiden jammed the Houndsoldier forward, and the Houndsolder rammed him back in his seat. "Ugh!" Abrupt though it was, the Zoid escaped the blast, but it now moved in the opposite direction of the Lightning Team, which was now aimed right back at Sao.

"Heiden! You alright?"

"Y-yeah. I can't get a grip on the ground! This thing… It needs more legs or something…"

"You need to get used to the lack of grip. Trust the Zoid to support your movement. Can you maneuver back?"

"Yeah sure." He made a sharp turn, digging again into the ground as he changed angle.

BEEEEEEP.

"Heiden! You can't turn that sharp! You loose too much speed!"

WHOOOSH! "Sorry! Ugh!" The Houndsoldier sped just out of range of the blast, now angled in the right direction.

The Liger meanwhile was in a pitch – the Saixes were catching up. "Boost on my mark ladies. And take him down!" Jack yelled, prompting the Saixes to leap out at the Liger. Sao jolted to the side, barely avoiding the strike. "King Baron Unit! Fire accelerated beam cannons!" The autonomous unit, approaching from a perpendicular angle, laid out a spray of bright orange laser beams. The aim was sloppy as ever, but the unit was close enough to land a hit on the rear Saix units.

"Kelly! Chris!"

"He nicked me Jack! But we're alright!"

"No problems here."

"Hmph. Looks like we're gonna hafta take the King Baron down after all…"

Sao grinned as he thought, "Good, the King Baron's back in their minds. Still, if they focus on it, the thing won't last long. Damn I need another Warrior – the robots never control well! I can't even stop it – there's no way that computer would avoid the blast from the tower… Wait, that's it!" Sao began typing a path for the King Baron, moving the Liger with his other hand.

"Heiden!" He called, "Where are you? You comin' or what?"

"Gimme a minute!" Heiden sounded stressed.

"That's fine! Head towards the Weapons Capsule!"

"Towards it?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna use the King Baron along with myself to lure them to the point where they couldn't hope to escape the missile fire, then stop the Baron. The commission does our work for us!"

"Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"Set us all up in your line of fire! At least one of them will probably escape – see if you can get a shot off, or a good strike. Remember, if you can take off a leg, the lack of movement effectively means they're out."

"Got it!"

True to his word, the Liger and the Baron were soon side by side, rushing towards the center of the field. The three Saixes followed behind, getting off a few shots, but just too far to score a clean hit. Noting the Liger's swaying pose, Jack chuckled.

"The Liger's gonna break away. Kelly! Watch the left side. Chris, the right! Wherever he goes, make sure he regrets it. I'll finish the Baron as soon as he moves."

"Roger!"

"Roger!"

Sao, noting Heiden's Zoid at the edge of his radar, decided it was time. "King Baron unit! Halt movement!" The King Baron's legs slid to a mechanical stop, so abruptly that the unit toppled over face-first. Sao cringed but sped on and out left.

Jack clenched his teeth at the new development. "Ugh!" He pushed his Lightning Saix to jump straight over the Baron out of reflex. Kelly and Chris, confused, hit the Baron head-on.

BEEEEP. WHOOOOSH! The missile shot out, catching all three Zoids.

"Aaaaagh!" Kelly yelled.

The Judge spoke: "Lightning Team unit 3, out of the battle!"

"What? But what about the Baron?" Chris wondered aloud, as her Zoid, which had evaded most of the blast, stood up. She took a closer look – having turned over, the blast had deeply scared the belly of the Zoid – the computer in the upper head must've been shielded – if it was alive though, it was hanging on by a thread.

BEEEEP. Chris gasped, and moved quickly away as a second missile soared inbound and definitively destroyed the King Baron.

"Nova Team unit 3, out of the battle!"

Seeing that the second unit was still moving, Sao groaned. "Only got one… Huh?" His radar showed a pursuer – Jack was behind and catching up quick. "Damn."

He pushed the Trinity Liger to full speed. No good. The Lightning Saix kept pace right up to the 290 kilometer per hour limit of the Liger's ability.

"No good Ensiné! When it comes to speed, I have you beat!" The Saix lept up and ripped its Strike Laser Claws deep into the Liger's back. The Trinity Liger was cast off balance and driven into the ground.

BEEEEEP. Sao felt the incoming missile. Using his one chance laying still, he opened fire on the escaping Lightning Saix with his plasma cannons. The shot was good – straight into the Saix's mounted laser cannon. Sao let out a hearty laugh, then felt the strike of the missile, and the clear orange letters on his console: Command System Freeze.

"Nova Team Unit 1, out of the battle!"

"Hmph. A stubborn son of a bitch, taking out my cannons at the last moment." Jack mused as he ejected the now-useless cannons from his Saix's back. "No matter – I can catch the other one and rip right into him. Just where did he…"

Fwoosh! The Houndsoldier flashed by Jack's black Lightning Saix, and made for Chris'. "Hmph, what's he doing? There's no way he could hit her at that speed unless he was going to ram her! And then he'd go below the Battle Mode's speed limit anyways…" Jack put it out of his mind and began veering the Saix back towards the Houndsoldier and Chris' Saix.

"You can't get me that easy kid!" Chris yelled, pushing her Saix ahead blasting at the oncoming Houndsoldier. The damage from the blast and the speed of her Zoid assured she wasn't close to hitting, but she aimed only to move past, back towards Jack. The Zoids approached. Heiden kept his finger on the Houndsoldier's Burst Cannon trigger, but fired no shots.

At last, the two past each other. "Hraaaah!" Heiden dug the Houndsoldier into the ground as he turned back to face the escaping Chris – now moving straight away from him – and fired. A solid hit to the leg sent her tripping.

BEEEP. Heiden slammed the Houndsoldier forth again and avoided the blast. "

"Ugh… Lucky shot!" Chris moaned, as she prepared to get the Saix moving. BEEEEP. She gasped, pushing the Saix to full throttle – but too slow. The missile hit her dead on.

"Lightning Team unit 2, out of the battle!"

Jack, unfazed, dashed straight for the Houndsoldier, now moving away from him. "Risky move there kid, stopping to make the shot. Paid off, but playtime's over! No one can escape the legs of my Lightning Saix!" The Saix roared as it sped down the battlefield, approaching the fleeing Houndsoldier.

"Shit! He's got me! I could turn again – I could fire one more… Maybe if I get one more shot…" Heiden thought. A bump in the road thrust him forward. "Umph!" As he opened his eyes, he could see the blur of the ground below the Houndsoldier. The rocks melded into a stream of dust and gravel – smoother than paved road – slick like oil, and filled with the rush of wind. Something in him felt alive, as though he weren't running but flying across the field.

"…I won't stop." He gripped the thrust. "This isn't my Cannon Spider. It doesn't crawl. It runs!" He clenched his teeth. "Even if it doesn't save me, even if this is how I go, I'll go running across the field!" He slammed the thrusters forward, "RUN HOUNDSOLDIER!"

The Houndsoldier's eyes glinted in the sun, its legs' cadence heightening in pace. The grin that had sprung up on Jack's face melted away. He pushed the Saix further. His hands began to tremble. The Houndsoldier got no closer. It was moving _farther_ ahead. He jammed the Saix to full throttle – 325 kilometers an hour.

The Houndsoldier sped onward.

"But how! No one's been able to outrun my Lightning Saix! No one's even come close since…" A flash of a white bodied, blue armored Liger, from many a month past. "Ha, hahahah, AHAHAHAH! I knew that kid had somethin' up his sleeve! This is what I've been needing!"

Heiden stared incredulously at the Houndsoldier's radar – watched the Lightning Saix move slowly back behind him. "Am I actually faster than he is? Is it possible?" Heiden's eyes glowed with the new experience of outdoing an opponent in speed. He chuckled. "I have been outrunning those missiles – guess it wasn't luck after all! Heh, well, I'm no runner – I'm still a sniper at heart. Shall we dodge 'em once more, Houndsoldier?" He pulled back on the throttle.

The Houndsoldier dropped back behind the Lightning Saix, then sped again. Somewhere in those short seconds, his speed must have dropped low, but only a machine would have noticed. And one did. BEEEEP. The speed change was so abrupt that the missile had time to level out – it didn't crash into the ground like the others but now chased after the Zoids, and just as the Houndsoldier made a sharp leap right, it flung itself right under the back feet of the Lightning Saix.

The Saix flew into the air, and Jack angled down, managing a fair landing. But in that one moment, he was not running. And the Houndsoldier was.

It made one final, brutally sharp turn and leapt straight into the face of the Lightning Saix. "HOUND BUSTER CANNON!" Heiden yelled, the eponymous cannon delivering a radiant blue burst into the Lightning Saix.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!"

* * *

><p>Jack propped open the cockpit to look at the second opponent to down his Lightning Saix in as many years. Heiden moved the Zoid slowly closer, speaking through the open com as he did so.<p>

"Ah, that's better. I like a Zoid that can trek stably, slow though that may be." At that moment, the Houndsoldier keeled over, steam bursting out of its leg joints. "Huh? Whoa! What the?"

"Heheh! You sure have balls kid, making tight turns at those speeds. It's a miracle that Zoid didn't collapse till now… Some luck." He muttered.

"Really? Heh, well I usually pilot Sniping Zoids so…"

"Hm. I could see that. Still kid, you have a lot of talent there. Strange I hadn't heard about you before. What's your name?"

Heiden propped open the Houndsoldier to see in person the warrior addressing him, this man who must also have known the thrill of speed. He wanted to say something dramatic, attention-grabbing, cheesy even, but recalling Sao's expression in the restaurant the previous day, decided not to dwell on what to say. "…Heiden Aeross." He responded.

"I'll remember it." Jack proclaimed.


	6. Chapter 6: At First Sight

Chapter 6: At First Sight

Finally realizing that no one cared about _his_ presence, Heiden lifted off his nondescript grey hood, fitted his jacket (styled similar), brushed aside his rusty brown hair, and took in his surroundings.

Café Curry, South Heights – a fine establishment for the consummation of curries flavored with the exotic herbs of the Southern Valley past the central mountains. Sao had diverted the course of the Dragoon's Nest to South Heights for the sole purpose of sampling this cuisine, only to discover that a plethora of warriors had been on the lookout for just such a Zoid in just such an area. Swamped with reporters, challengers, and fans, Sao had left Heiden in his Houndsoldier to sweep by the café and rendezvous later.

As he flew out of the back hangar, Heiden had been swarmed by the pursuant Zoids. He pressed through with his superior mobility, and escaped to the outskirts of town before finally strolling back towards the café via the backstreets.

It only now occurred to him that his pursuers had been chasing him thinking that Sao was the one in the Hound.

He let out a sigh and walked to the counter. The ceiling was decked with streamers. The monitors were tuned on footage of Sao and the Dragoon's Nest (possibly from their entrance in the very minutes prior, though Heiden didn't look to make sure). He was very sure the people in the Café had not, would not, (were not going to) recognize him, even if they weren't glued to the screens.

There was a line to order, but as the people there were also absorbed in the proceeds, Heiden slipped past to the counter and called to the female clerk.

"Hey, can I get the special?"

"Sao Special?"

"What?"

The clerk pointed to a shiny, prominent poster of Café Curry's new "Sao Special" – extra hot with chicken, shrimp, and tofu.

"Uhh… Is there a _normal_ special?"

"Oh, yeah sure." Her eyes evidenced a sigh that her mouth did not emit. She called to the kitchen, "One normal special!" She turned back to Heiden. "35.50 please."

Unsure whether he was being mocked, Heiden began fumbling through his jacket pocket for his wallet, not watching his hands and only half expecting to find the cash. A swoon from the crowd behind him drew the attention of the cashier as well as the customers. It was Sao's interview, presumably a rerun.

"My favorite food is… curry!" The TV screamed to the sighs of the viewers.

Heiden set his hands on a loose 50 BP bill and looked up to the cashier. Again, she had not sighed, but the light red on her cheeks seemed to evidence a concealed smile. She glanced up to Heiden, neck length hair drifting over her amber eyes as she lifted her head. She blinked and smiled.

"Out of fifty?"

Blinking himself, Heiden suddenly was at a loss for what once seemed like a simple answer. Glancing around, as if expecting to see that answer on the walls, he happened upon the Sao Special – its price at a surprisingly low 20 BP.

"Uh actually, add the Sao Special too." he stuttered.

"Sao Special!" The clerk called.

"Knowing him, he'd enjoy the name if not the dish…" Heiden muttered.

"Mm? Who?" the clerk asked as she took the bill.

"Oh! Who um… A.. faaan." Heiden looked away.

"Heiden!" Sao's voice. Heiden wheeled around. It was the TV, subtitled ENSINÉ MAKES SPEECH TO POPULACE. Heiden let out a sigh. The TV spoke on. "Where the hell are you? I want my curry!" The café began chatting about their main dishes, between glances at the screen. Heiden facepalmed as Sao continued. "I've gone 6 hours without curry and that's 6 hours too long! You get to rendezvous by 1:30 or I'm going there myself!"

"Uh, miss," Interjected Heiden to the cashier, "You have the time?"

"1:45 it looks like."

"Oh." Heiden attempted to hide his newfound worry - scanned the crowd. Sao was everywhere – billboards, signs, TVs, but nowhere in the flesh it would seem.

"Sir, that's 60 with tax." Heiden turned back to her.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know South Heights had a sales tax-"

Standing right behind her. There stood a man scrappily clad in scarves fashioned of blankets from the Dragoon's Nest' waiting rooms. Said scarves did little to hide his black hair streaked with brown, neatly fashioned but not combed. Neither did they conceal his black trench coat lined with blue and red. Why he would persist in wearing this outfit undercover, Heiden did not know. Indeed, how Sao had made his way into the café and _behind the counter_ without being seen did not enter Heiden's mind. It took all his effort not to scream in the face of the sheer horror of what was inevitably about to transpire.

But maybe he could put it off.

He laid down an extra 20 BP. She swept it off the table and moved toward the register.

"Uh, keep the change." Heiden tried not to look as Sao walked by the model curry plates in the display window, petting them like house cats as he absorbed the detail. "How long you think for the… two specials?" Heiden asked.

"5 minutes. Can I get your name?" She pulled up the receipt and a pen.

"Oh, Heiden."

"Heiden?" Said a voice, no longer coming from the TV. The clerk wheeled around. "Heiden! I've been looking everywhere! Where's lunch?" Sao grinned oblivious. Heiden buried his face in his hands.

The girl had lost all grasp of speech. She appeared to have lost all grasp of any kind, as the pen and receipt slipped from her hands to the floor. She held only a mile long stare, like that of a poker playing eying an opponent's newly revealed million-to-one hand. But as she looked on, her eyes lit up. That imaginary high hand was still going to be beaten by her own. And the imaginary pot included everything she ever wanted, laid out right in front of her.

She went all in.

"Sao Ensiné, I challenge you to battle in mode 0923!" She breathed heavily at the weight of what she'd just said. Sao stood shocked. The café turned around. Heiden burrowed deeper into his sleeves.

Sao took her by the arms. "Accepted!" Heiden looked up, incredulous. Sao wore a grin as wide as it was suffused with pure glee. The girl now turned redder than the specialty curry.

"Sao and regular special!" The kitchen called.

The crowd erupted, crushing Heiden into the counter as they surged toward the newly accepted challenge.

"0923, you said? Identical models? 3 on 1!" Sao asked with all the grace of a high school confession.

"Y- yes…" She answered with the grace befitting the receiving end of the confession.

"Order UP!" the kitchen yelled again. Heiden finally climbed (or rather, fell) over the counter and stumbled towards the awestruck couple.

"Uh, miss? Is that ours?" She nodded lightly. "Well, we'll just take it and be on our way…"

"We can-!" She exclaimed. "We can deliver if you want." She pressed up to Sao, who stared at her as an idiot admires a perfect score on a test, acquired from guessing. Heiden grabbed curry and Sao both and pulled them toward the kitchen exit.

"We'll take it to go." He dragged them away as the crowd inched closer over the counter, their screams drowned out only by their yells.

"Wait!" Sao called from the door, "What's your team name?"

* * *

><p>"The name HeartSao is not registered to any team under the Zoids Battle Commission." the Judge proclaimed.<p>

"Are you sure? Can you check again?" Sao asked the screen as he chewed his namesake curry.

"Ugh." The Judge slumped over, depressed. "Deliberating… Deliberating…"

Heiden leaned over to Josef. "How many times has he asked now?" Josef's digital screen blurred, then showed a distinct, blue "5". Heiden laid his grey jacket on the crème sofa and began to consume the normal special curry.

"Deliberation complete! HeartSao Team has been identified."

Heiden choked on the curry. "Acck! It has?"

"A registration request was filed 2 hours ago, and has now been approved for battle!" The Judge proclaimed. The main screen changed to display the newly registered HeartSao team, consisting of a single, sleek, dark blue, lion-like Lidier Zoid. The girl's face displayed prominently beside it, registered under the name Eura Halest.

"Sao Ensiné, in accordance with the regulations stipulated under the 22nd Edition Battle Mode Compendium for Battle Mode 0923, you and two of your teammates are obligated to fight in EHI-009 Lidier Zoid units, painted in standard pattern dark blue 16. Do you accept?"

"Yes! Yes…" Sao nodded with each word. The Judge's screen fizzed green as it processed the response.

"Confirmed. The Battle has been scheduled for noon tomorrow at coordinates 400 a-6. Please arrive half an hour early for confirmation of the Zoids in usage." The screen went black.

Sao set down the half finished curry and pounded a number into the keyboard.

"Sao, do we even have three Lidier units?"

"Working on it…"

"You're not seriously gonna buy some just for this battle?"

"Course not! I'll just call in a favor from an old friend." The video screen lit up again, and gave the familiar ringing tone.

Three gruff faces shown on the screen, sitting around a pot of stew. Behind them sat 3 yellow Saber Fangs. "Uh, hello?" One of the men leaned curiously toward the screen. He cleared his throat. "Ahem! Hello, and what business have you with the great Tiger Team?"

"Oh, sorry, wrong number."

"Huh?"

Sao cut the line. "Dammit, where did I put her…" He muttered as he opened the glove compartment and dug out old notes. Heiden sighed and headed towards the door.

"I'm… gonna go tune up Houndsoldier."

"You won't be using it."

"I know…"

"Oh cheer up, you'll like Lidiers. They're fast enough. Almost too fast for the terrain she's chosen- Ah!" Sao pulled out a carefully pressed fuchsia sheet and set it open upon the counter. "Oh, 71_5_.. right right…"

Heiden's glance drifted away from Sao to Josef, standing static as ever, black painted finish glinting with the reflected light of the controls.

"What's your take on all this?" Heiden asked. Josef inched his visor-screen the slightest bit left, at Heiden. Let the thought swirl around his robotic brain. Then returned, wordless, to his standing position.

"My thoughts exactly." Heiden retorted.

* * *

><p>There was a reserve in South Valley from which herbs for dishes such as curry were procured. That area had been decked with greenery from rock to stream, as if peppermint had been poured over the landscape, the growth of centuries left mostly undisturbed by man and Zoid alike. Only birds and beasts roamed the trails there.<p>

The other side of the mountain was once the same, and much resembled it from afar. A closer look revealed the odd crater or empty shell, and not a beast in sight; the frequent battles had provoked the wildlife to migrate elsewhere. But one thing was much the same: no clearings. The ground was dense with trees and rocks and before the afternoon trade winds passed, the morning mist lingered on the ground.

In one such patch of mist, Sao's Lidier stood. He leaned back in the cold impersonal quarters and closed his eyes.

_0923. 0-9-2-3! Noone's ever asked me to do battle in a mode that wasn't 0982 before, but not only that, she chose "At First Sight" – mode 0923. _Sao's musings began to encompass his train of thought. _First Sight – one's first impression in this match is key! I used it plenty before Heiden came along, back when I fought solo. A 3 on 1 match with radar and communication disabled and all combatants in the same Zoid type and make. _He chuckled at the memories.

"Model ubiquity is confirmed!" The gruff voice of the Commission operator announced. "Regulation conditions satisfied; sending down the Judge Capsule!"

_Who is where? Who is who? Oh, what a mode! The deception! The questioning! Who to trust? Who's your enemy? I've always been the one making the 3 question themselves, and now I'm one of the three! Hmm… What an intriging girl…_

Sao scratched his chin. In this distance, a rumble as the capsule hit the ground. "The area within a 20 kilometer radius is a designated Zoids battlefield! Danger!"

_How will she use 0923? Has she used it before? Could she be another lone fighter? A purveyor of the battle modes who'd never found the chance to make herself known! I must see what she'll do!_

"Area scanned! Battlefield set up! The Nova team versus the HeartSao Team! Battle Mode 0-9-2-3! Reaaady? FIGHT!"

The yelling and subsequent radio static finally jolted Sao from his musing. He looked around. Trees extended endlessly on every side. Silence. He grinned and eased the Lidier forward, into a grove just large enough to pass through.

Scrunch! He felt the sides of the Zoid brush past the trees and sink its feet into the mulch. It sounded wet, but it felt solid. He pressed on.

Scrunch! That wasn't him. He aimed up, trained his 3 Shot Particle Cannon ahead. A shadow moved just behind a layer of branches. Unquestionably a Zoid, walking toward him. He moved a step back into the grove, for cover, and brought up the target reticule. It emerged.

A dark blue Lidier, obviously. It edged toward him, as a deer might walk out in front of a hunter, though it couldn't possibly _not_ know Sao was there. It glanced around, then back at him. Sao grasped the trigger, but didn't pull, kept his eyes on the Lidier, ready for it to make a move.

It did. It strained its head, gestured behind, to follow it, and turned around, heading back into the bush. Sao sighed. _Heiden_. _Knows me well enough to see that I back out and let my enemies move first. Hasn't quite got the feel for the Lidier yet it seems. Heh._ He started out after it and the pair crept deeper into the forest.

The pacing of their Zoids did little to break the stillness of the battlefield. _No engagement_, Sao thought. _Josef hasn't found her…_ They followed the straightest path available, which held all the straightness of a tangled wire and finally led to a rock face covered in moss, but relatively easy to shimmy around. _The battlefield was only 20 kilometers in radius. Where was she hiding? Why? The Lidier would make an average sniper at best and there was no good vantage point – there was cover everywhere! What was she doing? _Sao couldn't help but smile at the possibilities.

Crush! A tree falling. Sao jerked back, his accomplice did similar. _Ahead_. He angled the Lidier low to the ground, and circled right to get a sight on the new arrival.

The third Lidier stood at a face off with the second. As Sao moved about, and the third caught sight of the two, it lowered its barrels, took two steps back and stopped.

_Josef. No human would move that mechanically._ Sao concluded, and motioned the two of them forward.

But the second Lidier stayed put, gazed out through a small gap in the surrounding greenery. Sao paused to look back. _See somethin' Heiden? _The Lidier leapt forward through the gap. Sao scowled and followed, the third Lidier creeping closely behind.

Boom! Crack! Nondescript sounds from the mists ahead. Sao lowered the Lidier once more out of caution. Then bam! Balls of light hurling out from the mist! Sao dove right. The third Lidier wasn't so quick. A flash of light showed the gattling fire had hit its mark.

The radio crackled on momentarily. "Nova Team unit 3, out of the battle!"

_Huh. Got us. But, she gave herself away. Predictable… _Sao sighed. _What a bore. _The firing stopped and in the distance, the shadow showed itself. The final Lidier.

_These guns aren't accurate enough to hit from this distance. I could close the gap easily, but I might get caught in the underbrush hidden in the mist. Besides, looks like she's the jumpy type. I'll let her guns show me where she is._

He let off a round of the 3 Shot Particle Beam Cannon toward the target Zoid, and made a brisk pace around right. As expected, he felt resistance in the legs – twigs and roots the mist had hidden. But just as predicted, the fourth Lidier had panicked and began firing again. This time it started spamming its cannon, maintaining its position.

Sao sighed and crept closer, readying a good shot to take out its feet. The Lidier stopped firing again and began looking around. Sao let loose. Sparks evidenced a hit, but not a good one. The Lidier still stood, bolted away at breakneck speed.

Sao frowned. _At that speed? In this field? She's dumber than I thought. _Crack! The Lidier tripped into the foliage. Sao moved in, slowly enough to avoid a similar mishap, but quick enough to plant himself right behind his prey.

"If you can't see where you're going, you'd best tread carefully. The field looks tamer at first sight." he thrust the Lidier's laser sabers deep into the back of the Zoid with a shwish! and leaned back as the radio crackled on.

"Nova Team Unit 2, out of the battle!"

He jolted up. _Fires like a sniper, trying to move fast and too dumb to adapt to territory- shit! _Sao moved away from his misinformed handiwork, wondered what he would say to Heiden later. And yet, why should he have to say anything? Heiden had shot down Josef! His trigger-happy firing had started the whole mess!

Or had it? No. Heiden was once a sniper, but he wasn't trigger-happy. So why had he-

Realization. He turned the Lidier around. There lay a snapped tree trunk, tumbled over when the 2nd Lidier had rushed ahead. A boom and a crack. And near the tree, depressed ground, where a Zoid had once fallen, had recently fallen. But it had left. Had trekked subtly away after firing, had laid low while Sao took down his teammate, and waited for-

Scrunch. _For a chance to get behind me._ Sao closed his eyes. SHWISH!

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… the HeartSao Team!"

* * *

><p>"Sao! It is you, right Sao? Are you okay?" Eura ran toward Sao's steaming Lidier. The cockpit slid open revealing a blank faced Sao, hair neither straight nor combed, and sporting a few less brown patches than usual. She cowered at the edge of the controls, desperate to get closer and afraid of doing just that.<p>

Sao sat up. She flinched. He moved slowly toward her, the blank stare on his face as static as if it had been painted on him.

The girl trembled as she spoke, "I… I looked through your files in the Commission Database, and I saw you used that mode a lot! And… I borrowed my Dad's Lidier. I use it for deliveries sometimes." He crept closer, the blank stare starting to angle at the speaker. "Did I break your winning streak? I can disband my team if it'd help make-"

He flung his arms around her and she was buried in his chest. "That was wonderful!" He exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"You knew you couldn't take me head on, so you found the right mode and fought the right way to make me take _my own_ team out! Just brilliant, Eura! Just brilliant!" At the mention of her name, Eura's cheeks flushed red and she collapsed into Sao's embrace. She hadn't fainted, merely let her legs give way and allow her hands to move lower around Sao's waist.

"T-thanks…"

From his own steaming cockpit, Heiden listened to the exchange through the now operational comlink.

"How can I ever repay you for such a wonderful battle?" Heiden beat his head against the dashboard.

"I uh… Could I… join your team?"

"You… You want to?"

"Yes! I'd… love to."

"Of course! I'd, we'd love to have you! Isn't that right Hei- bbmmpph!" Heiden did not climb out of his cockpit to find out why Sao had stopped speaking. It was hard not to think that Eura was involved.

Finally realizing that no one cared about _his_ presence, Heiden put on his nondescript grey hood, fitted his jacket (styled similar), brushed aside his rusty brown hair, and let his surroundings pass away unnoticed.


	7. Chapter 7: Outsiders

Chapter 7: Outsiders

"Josef? Can you speak?" Heiden's robotic companion turned to him. He didn't need a human face to convey sarcasm. He turned back to the chilled section of the grocery and stretched his hydraulic arms toward the daily specials.

Heiden sighed as he pulled up a package of pork. The meal of the day had been the same for a week, had been lovingly prepared by the same female crew member for a week, and had in the space of a week, exhausted the Dragoon's Nest's entire 120 kilogram store of curry powder. The female crew member had requested a refill. Desperate to get away from Sao's newly invigorated Battle Mode lectures, and the cuddling that accompanied them, Heiden had volunteered to accompany Josef on the errand.

They had filled a shopping cart with curry powders by the time Eura called and informed Heiden that they'd be in need of more meat as well. More meat, and some rice, and perhaps a few dozen potatoes, and something else Heiden had never heard of. The robot was now reaching for a discounted set of chicken atop a shelf, like a cat reaching for a yarn thread hanging a finger's length out of reach. Heiden climbed onto the display and nudged the package out of place.

"You ever wanted legs instead of treads?" He asked as he slipped the package into the grocery cart. At that moment, the comlink rang. Heiden made to answer, leaving Josef to stare at his worn black treads.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hei~!" A singsong voice answered. Heiden had turned off the video screen several calls ago.

"Hei-den. You need something else?"

"No, no! That's everything Heihei! It's just that…" Heiden could feel her swoon, "_Sao_ and I decided-"

"Heiden!" The other voice, still as energetic as the day he met the girl. "Eura and I had a great idea! We should start using modes with dynamic terrain focuses! We're heading out to get her a new Zoid right now!"

"Oh, that's great Sao. Wait- What? Heading where?"

"Well, that's why I called, Heihei! We're heading east to Romeo City to get a new Zoid!"

"Romeo City! Past Linea Canyon? Past the mountains and the des- That's 500 kilometers away!"

"Well, it's only 100 kilometers from us now. Your Doggy won't take long to get here though right?"

"My _Houndsoldier_ can make it in an hour!"

"I don't know about that Heiden, I haven't heard of any Zoid that can make 500 kilomters per hour for any sustained time-"

"Shut up Sao! I'll see ya there!" He hung up. "Asshole… Don't ya think?" He turned to Josef, still looking down at his treads. Heiden sighed, walked up and gave Josef a pat on the back.

Thunk.

"Hey, at least you get to do a lot of 'let's roll' jokes."

Heiden's robotic companion turned to him. A human face wouldn't have helped convey his thoughts.

* * *

><p>"…30,000 for the AZ assault rifles, 2000 for the paintjob and 500 for the registration comes to 72900 for the Evoflyer, including your discounts, Mr. Ensiné." The shopkeeper folded his arms, and grinned at the couple. Eura tightened her grip around Sao's right arm, and smiled as well. Sao pulled his left arm up to scratch his chin and closed his eyes in thought.<p>

"And if we trade in the blue Lidier?"

"Sao~!" Eura chimed in, somewhere between a whine and a squeal. "I wanna keep it! It has so many memories!" She turned to him. "Do you not have enough?"

"Oh, this guy has enough!" The shopkeeper interjected, "I probably sold more high quality Zoids to him than the local branch of the Battle Commission! One of my best customers this guy!"

A digital medley sounded at the opening of the store's glass doors.

"And speaking of my good customers! Leon! Naomi! Be with ya in just a minute!"

A women of red dress and red hair that slipped down almost down to her waist paced through, leading a man of a blue vest and smooth brown hair, combed into a sort of half dome.

The storekeep turned back to Sao. "So why the tight purse all of a sudden?"

"Well, I… I was borrowing some lidiers recently, and… The person who provided them suggested, rightly, that if I ever want to raise enough to start that Stadium, I should stop spending so damn much. I'm just trying to take the advice to heart."

"You lookin' to make yourself a Stadium hon?" The women behind called in a soft accent.

Sao turned to her. "That's the gist of it."

"Quite a dream you've come across!" The man walked up behind her. "It's nice to have that kind of direction in life." He smiled gently, a smile that showed sincerity in his words.

"Takes more than a direction to make a life." Sao grinned.

"Ain't that that truth!" The woman chimed in. The group laughed.

"Naomi. Naomi Fleugel." She stretched out her hand, and Sao gave a friendly shake. "Sao Ensiné. And?"

"Leon Toros. A pleasure!" He shook Leon's hand in turn.

"And who's your date hon?" Naomi looked to Eura.

"Eura Curae!" Eura shook hands before Sao had a chance to interject, and Sao had decided interjecting wasn't worth the trouble.

"Leon, and Naomi." Sao mused, "I think I'd seen a match with you two sometime back."

"My, what a flattering warrior we've found!" Naomi leaned on Leon's shoulder, who ruffled her red hair as he smiled.

"I only hope the one you saw was a good one." Leon responded.

" I appreciated the mode you choose. 0988 I believe –the 6 shot."

"Heh, just found it was a fine way to shoot." Naomi laughed.

"Not at all! And it intrigued me that you work so comfortably as a team of two. It's rare to find 2 on 2 battles these days."

"Well," the shopkeeper piped in, eager to rejoin the conversation, "We can't all be as knowledgeable in battle modes as you are Sao."

"Oh my! You wouldn't happen to be that Warrior makin' rounds doin strange battle modes would ya?"

"You didn't know? Sao! She'd seen you before and didn't even remember your name!" Eura clung tighter to him.

"Ah, but she knew what I've been doing. And that intrigues me." Sao grinned. "Perhaps I should try to do something to make this name mean something to ya, Ms. Naomi."

"Oh, I'd be much obliged! Leon, hon?"

"Sounds like a great time. But I have a feeling you didn't have any normal battle in mind, Sao."

"He never does!" Eura's clinging had slipped into a full-blown hug. Sao didn't seem to notice.

"I'm thinking of battle mode 0969, a three on three with an interesting twist."

"I like the sound of that." Leon stretched out his hand to shake on the deal. Naomi grasped his arm first.

"Hate ta crash the party 'fore it's gotten started hon, but you an' me hardly count for a team of three."

"Well," Sao leaned back onto the counter, "I don't imagine it could be hard to find _someone_, with a working knowledge of many Zoids…" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up as Sao continued, "'Course they'd need to be on a battle team. We wouldn't wanna spend the time registering them _and_ their Zoid with the Commission." As the shopkeeper's expression faltered, Sao slid over the disc marked with the specs of 'his' Lidier, "Unless of course, he had a Zoid that was pre-registered to me, which I could then lend to you…"

"35000 for the Lidier." The man whispered.

"Then again, it does have a lot of sentimental value for my team…" He wrapped his arm around Eura, who made no attempt to his the silly grin that snuck on to her face.

"50000! That's my final offer!"

Sao wheeled around and shook his hand. "And it looks like we have a match! Assuming of course, that you'll take this man on your team?"

"I must say I'm a bit of a lone wolf type myself," Naomi mused, "Though I have in time learned to think better of a companion in battle." She looked to her partner, who drew her close ever so subtly.

"We'd love to have you." He said to the shopkeep.

"Well I've, I'm not much of a pilot myself, but I- I'm sure I could…" He moved about his desk, typing frantically and pulling out drawers, "But I've always want- If you're very sure-"

Leon walked up to the desk and put a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "It'd be a pleasure." He looked back at Naomi, who closed her eyes, sensing a light blush on her face. Eura took in the sight with a hidden fervor, looking up to her partner in desperate yearning for the same reaction. Before she could get it, Leon turned to Sao.

"Where and when?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. And, I know the perfect place. Linea Canyon, a ways out east of here. Passed it on the way to the city."

Leon nodded. "We'll see you there, then." Leon got the handshake he'd wanted before. Naomi, near to his arm and blush gone from her face, giggled at the act.

"And who, may I ask, will be your third team member, hon?"

The doors chimed their digital chime and a gasping figure slumped inward, hair in a mess, and grey jacket moreso.

"Oh! That's him now. Heiden!"

Heiden stumbled over, followed by a Josef who appeared as close as a tread-based robot ever has to being drunk.

"20 minutes!" Heiden flung up two fingers as he spoke. "One hour…" He paused for breath. "…And 20 minutes! Across… The canyon… the mountain… and the desert! Whew! I made it!"

The group was puzzled, staring at the newcomer obstinately, with the exception of Sao, who was honestly giving his remarks some thought. The thought paid off.

"Oh! You made the journey in an hour and 20 minutes! Nicely done." Heiden nodded and Sao grinned. "Alright! Time to head back!"

"Wha- what?"

"Linea Canyon's our next battleground, Heiden, and these are our next challengers! Let's get to it!"

"The Lin- Linea Canyon that I- that we just pass- Ugh…" He collapsed.

* * *

><p>"0969 – the Outsiders! So called because…" Gulp! Sao wolfed down the spoon of rich brown curry Eura had stuffed in his mouth. "Zankz." She took a breath as if to let out a squeal of happiness, but choose instead to return the spoon to the plate to scoop up more rice.<p>

Heiden chewed slowly on the couch across from the couple, next to Josef who stood nearby at the Accipiter controls. Sao pointed to the projection screen next to him – an image of 6 dots in 2 3-dot rows, facing each other in the center of a pair of jagged canyon walls.

"So called because of its strange positioning. The goal is for all team members to cross the line behind the opposing team. It's ideally fought in a very linear battlefield, and only one minute of flight time for any flying Zoid is allowed – not nearly enough time to fly the entire way to the other goal. " He made a 'move-along' gesture to Josef as he took another spoon of curry. Josef prompted the projector to draw two lines, one behind each row of three. "The twist is that each team has one member among enemy lines." The middle dot of the bottom row and the outside dots of the top row turned red – the positioning of the teams was made clear. "The 'outsider' zoid can move away to regroup, or hold position, badly outnumbered, until his allies make their way to him."

"Or her!" Eura grinned.

"Or her, yes." Sao ate more.

Heiden finally gulped down the finely ground meat in his mouth and spoke. "Let me take a leap of faith and _guess_ that you'd like me to be the outsider."

"Correct!"

"Correct!"

The couple chimed in unison, though the tones in their voices had a subtle, telling difference.

Heiden sighed, leaning on his arm. "Well, I can't blame the logic. Houndsoldier and I can certainly make it back to you guys quickly. We'll surround their outsider and then double back on them."

"Not exactly."

"Hm?" Heiden paused as he drew up another spoonful of curry and even Josef seemed to glance over surprised.

"You'll be staying right there with them."

"Wha- I'll be a walking target!" Heiden exclaimed.

Sao smiled. "Exactly."

* * *

><p>Linea Canyon truly seemed to have been made for territory based battle. From space, it appeared like a straight line north to south, interrupted only by a small iron bridge. A clear progression, a tight rope to walk on, a tug of war rope to pull on, a place where confrontation would be inevitable.<p>

The canyon floor was rocky and dry, and a good three hundred meters wide. It sloped up to the sandy canyon walls that stretched up another hundred meters to block out much of the sky. In the mid-afternoon, the Zi sun couldn't even be seen, save for a choice few rays that passed through the overhead clouds, and the shooting streak that evidenced the approach of-

BAM! The Judge capsule slammed at the edge of the cliff, sending up a cloud visible to both sides and casting dust and rubble over the cliff edge. The walls didn't impair the strength of his announcement signal.

"The area within a 20 kilometer radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield! Danger! All non-personnel…"

"Pfft, like there's anyone hanging around the bottom of the canyon…" Heiden grunted. He looked around. Out of the corner of his screen, he could see them – behind and left, Naomi's red Gun Sniper. At far right, Leon's red Blade Liger. Placed at opposite edges of the canyon floor, their legs obscured by rocks, but with a very clear line of sight to the Houndsoldier, Heiden was not comforted by his orders to stand his ground.

"All participants are to hold position, as the Zoid Battle Commission Satellite designates the goal lines!" The Judge proclaimed.

From the other side of the canyon, Sao could just make out the small white glint high in the sky. He didn't need to squint to see the radiant light beam spread from its laser units down 200 meters behind the enemy, and feel the roar of the laser carving a similar line 200 meters behind him.

"Sao, I'm scared!" Eura called over from her new, dark blue Evoflyer.

"Don't worry Eura, the Commission Satellite's aim is accurate to within 5 meters." He responded coolly. "And we wanna know where we're headed for." He looked right to the center of the canyon floor – the store-keep in the newly red-painted Lidier stood facing them. He shifted back in his seat and waited.

The lasers finished their work, leaving smoking black lines in the canyon floor.

"Battlefield, scanned! Laser marking complete, area set-up! The Nova Team versus the Flugel Team! Battle mode 0-9-6-9! Ready? FIGHT!"

The Lidier wheeled around and ran toward his team. "Go!" Sao yelled, pressing the Trinity Liger forward and blasting the Lidier with his Beam Cannons. He landed a hit or two on the back, but soon lost sight of the faster Zoid. He sighed, but didn't pause, and pressed forward.

Heiden dived right, and leapt towards the Gun Sniper. Naomi leapt left fired her beam gattlings, surprised at the aggressive move. Leon rammed the Blade Liger into the Houndsoldier's hind legs, pushing him away into the wall. Shaken, but determined, Heiden pushed off and dashed to circle around the two.

"So wait, should I go cross the goal early and wait for you?" Heiden had asked.

"No point." Sao had responded. "Even if we were to both fall in battle, leaving you the only one in the goal zone, the rules state that you'd need to hold that ground alone for 4 minutes, which is enough time for them to reach you even if they were on the other side of the canyon. And they won't be if we're both down. If there are only two of us, we'd have to hold 2 minutes. We can only achieve an instant victory if all three of us cross the goal line."

"So what am I doing there?"

"If they put Leon with us, it means they're aggressive. They'll be moving quick for us." Sao had said. "But if so, we can just barely outrun his Blade Liger and bring the battle to you. If Leon stays with Naomi…" Heiden had rolled his eyes, but stayed quiet, " Then they're cautious, or at least thoughtful. They'll want to set Naomi's Gun Sniper up to snipe. There's no good high ground here, but there's also no good cover. With Leon to protect her, she could mess with us hard. Prevent that."

300 meters was less than it sounded to maneuver. Before he knew it, Heiden had reached the other side of the canyon, and Leon was moving toward him, wheeling out the Blade Liger's signature Laser Blades from its sides. Heiden tried to glance at Naomi, tried to get an idea of what she was doing. Moving away – not good. But wait! She was turning back, at him! "All according to plan…"

He dove right and hit the throttle, leaping just out of Leon's reach. BAM! A blast from down the canyon rocked the cockpit. The Lidier was coming. "Fast son of a bitch. You want speed?" Heiden dug into the ground to face the Lidier and dashed.

The storekeep deployed the Lidier's braking ailerons as Heiden approached. "Getting' too fast huh?" Heiden yelled. The Lidier began to turn to the wall. "Can't handle it old man!" He leapt and dug his bite fangs into the leg of the Lidier.

FWAM! Heiden was slammed back. Naomi had set up and shot her 144mm AZ sniper rifle straight into the Houndsoldier's left-side cross lance, blowing it clean off of the Zoid and leaving the Houndsoldier reeling with blue sparks.

"Urgh!" Heiden gripped into the ground and leapt away and into the fray.

"Respectable technique." Leon quibbled over the open channel. "Especially for a Zoid of such speed!"

"I can respect it!" The shopkeeper proclaimed between exasperated breaths.

"But it ain't gon' help 'gainst the three of us, hon." Naomi let off two more shots, close enough to the speeding Houndsoldier to pelt it with rubble from her blasts.

Ignoring them, Heiden pushed through. Leon moved to block, unsheathing his blades, with a roar from his Liger. Heiden faked left and right, trying to move. Too slow – Naomi shot straight into his foot, and Leon leapt forward. Heiden parried, but not soon enough.

SLICE. The blades hacked straight through the Houndsoldier's back right leg, leaving the Zoid smoking and limping meters behind.

"End of the line kid." Leon turned back to face the crippled Heiden.

BOOM! The roar of a pair of Beam Cannons.

"Nah, that aint for another 200 meters." Sao's trinity Liger eyed the group from just down the canyon, had gotten there without a single shot fired from Naomi or the others. "Nice work Heiden. Now let's end this!"

He dashed in. Leon wheeled round to a flurry of energy blasts. From far behind Sao, Eura's Evoflyer fumbled toward the group, unleashing a chaotic rain of fire from its rear mounted AZ Assault Rifles. It wasn't aimed, but it wasn't meant to be. Suddenly, it wasn't clear who was hit. Where the enemy was. Where was Naomi? Leon rushed to her – that was who they'd target – the Gun Sniper, helpless at close range.

"Naomi!"

"I got 'em Leon!" She fired back, but the chaos got to her too – no solid hits.

"Don't worry Naomi, I'll take her!"

"We'll see Leon!" Sao leapt at him, he dodged back. The two swords bared fangs at each other.

"A very respectable team you've got, Sao. How's about we see which is sharper? My Laser Blades or your Photon Cutter?"

"Sao! I'm almost there!" Heiden called.

"Hm?" Leon turned. Then he saw. Limping, but moving, Heiden had moved the Hounsoldier past toward the goal line.

"A tempting offer Leon!" Sao returned, "But this match isn't about sharpness. It's about position. And I've got the better one of those." Leon realized – the Ligers had strafed around each other leaving Sao nearer to the goal. With a great leap, Sao wheeled the Trinity Liger around and ran.

Leon fired his double barreled shock cannon, but it was no use – the shots merely glanced the Trinty Liger's claw armor, and soon he was out of range.

"Leon!" The shopkeeper called, "We alright?"

"Concentrate on the Evoflyer! She's too slow to escape, and they'll need to hold for two minutes after that! We can still take them all out!"

"Sao! I'm there!" Heiden yelled.

"Eura!" Sao called. "Now!"

Eura took a breath and reached for the switch at the top of her cockpit. "Flight mode, engage!" The Evoflyer crouched down, leapt high, and tucked its legs in as it spread into its flying mode.

"Zoid flight detected. One minute till forced shutdown of aerial functions." The Judge proclaimed.

"Naomi! Take down the Evoflyer!"

Eura gritted her teeth and pushed forward on the throttle, sending the Evoflyer soaring overhead through the canyon.

Naomi said nothing, lining up a split-second shot – BAM! right into the wings. But the flyer kept moving, inertia driving it over the enemy team, tumbling down back to the valley floor and straight towards…

SLAM! She hit the houndsoldier, sending them both reeling into the ground behind the goal line. The recoil sent Heiden's head reeling into the dashboard. He grasped his brow, then gasped. He eyed the command system. LEGS – SYSTEM FREEZE. HOUND BUSTER CANNON – SYSTEM FREEZE… He read through a list of similar statements and held his breath.

The command system remained functional.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!"

* * *

><p>"I just feel so refreshed!" Leon's face shined as he spoke through the comlink. "I can't thank Sao enough! I just feel like my mind's been opened to a whole new way of battling!"<p>

Heiden nodded as he felt the bump on his head beneath the hastily, self-applied bandage. It was a touch hard to hear, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the mysterious classical music playing on Leon's end of the conversation, or because his ears were still reeling from the battle. He didn't think about it too much. Thinking hurt too. "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear that."

"So let me get this straight. He'd told you to stay in our area so we'd be distracted when he approached?"

"Well, he'd say it was 'embracing the role of the outsider' I guess." Heiden shrugged. "To run back to your group would be to abandon their interests at the goal line. You gotta support them through… your being alone." He paused for thought.

"Just genius. You think you could pass my thanks on to him when he wakes up?"

"No problem." Heiden responded.

Naomi leaned into the screen. "You were lovely too hon. Hope we'll battle again someday!" She blew a kiss at the screen, and Leon chucked.

Heiden gave an awkward smile. "Likewise." They cut the connection.

Heiden leaned back. Josef rolled over with a tray holding an icy drink. "Oh, thanks." Heiden grasped it and held it up to the bump on his head.

Behind them, a door slid open. A Sao of rustled hair and wearing only dark boxers, felt drowsily out across the hall into the bathroom.

It was a lot quieter now that the conversation and attached music were gone. Heiden scratched his chin and turned back to Josef. "You know what music they had playing in the background there?" Josef seemed to shrug. "Kinda grew on me. You uh… You ever listen to music?" Josef paused for thought. "You know what, forget it. Thanks again for the, uh, drink." Heiden pressed said beverage to his head again, and Josef gave a slight bow.

Sao emerged from the bathroom, and felt his way back to his room. Before he quite got there, a pair of female arms reached out, and pulled him back in. The door shut.

"I really need a girlfriend." Heiden mused.

A mechanical voice next to him answered. "Yes you do."


	8. Chapter 8: Pulse War

Chapter 8: Pulse War

"19th Revision Judgement Battle Standard: judicial decisions to be made by a panel of 3 Commission appointed judges (human), to be present within 5 kilometers of the battlefield's geographical center point." Sao read aloud from the computer screen.

He leaned back in his deep crimson desk chair, set his elbow on the chrome arms and scratched his chin. "Human judges. Fascinating." He smiled.

His room was sizable but sparse, much like his desk. In the far corner sat a bed with a frosted glass frame, topped with blue patterned sheets lying in disarray. A door to a private bathroom was set in the wall beside the bed, and on the wall past that, the door to the hall. The floor shone with a glossy blue finish. The desk had a similar black sheen. Most of the desk itself was given to a slick keyboard and touch interface, save for a corner which housed a small picture framed in black and red – that of a teenage Sao and a similarly aged girl of long, smooth red hair, both smiling.

"Sao hon? I'm out of soap, could you get some?" Eura's voice drifted out of the bathroom door behind him. By the sound of it, the shower was still running.

"Mm? Sure." He turned his eyes back to the computer screen, and scrolled to the top of the document.

The text had been partially corrupted, riddling the paragraphs with conspicuous black boxes. Whether by intention or age, Sao could not discern, but from the look of it, the Backdraft group had managed to completely restore the title of the document: COMPENDIUM OF RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE USAGE OF THE ZOID COMBAT COMMITTEE AND ASSOCIATES – 39th REVISION. A date was blacked out below. _Zoid Combat Committee_. "Wonder when their name changed." Sao mused.

"Sao?" Eura called in a sing-song manner.  
>"Coming." He said, more pensive than annoyed, finally standing and moving out his room door into the hall.<p>

* * *

><p>In the cockpit-lobby of the Dragoon's Nest, Heiden tapped a space on the digital board. It flickered, giving rise to a hologram of a round, black stone. He looked up to his opponent. Josef, who was plugged into the board, barely looked up before another space glinted blue, and flickered to reveal a white stone. Chained together with a line of similar stones around 5 of Heiden's black ones, the section of the board glowed red, and Heiden's black stones reversed color.<p>

"I thought robots were bad at 'Go'?

"They are." Josef responded.

Heiden ground his teeth.

In the hall behind the two, Sao stumbled out, wearing only black pants and a grey shirt with red edges, and looked over to the supply drawers on the far side of the hall.

"Sao, are we hitting anywhere we can land soon?" Heiden called over.

"Not for awhile." he responded, moving his fingers over the 'open' switches for the various drawers. "Are we out of soap?"

Heiden stood up. "You want me to help look?"

"No, I found some." He pulled out a pink, rectangular block and started back into the room. Heiden turned back to Josef, who had turned his visor-screen-head ever so slightly left, fully aware of Heiden's stalling for time, and quietly satisfied at the knowledge that Heiden wouldn't be stalling much longer.

"Ok…" Heiden sighed, sitting down. Josef turned his head back, and gestured for Heiden to move. He smiled at the robot. "Where were we?"

A ringing tone from the control console.

"Oh!" Heiden stood. "Wonder what that is?" He smiled as he walked over to the console. Josef slumped his shoulders, which by design slumped his head and arms, making what was once a subtle reaction decidedly blatant. Heiden chuckled as he reached the control panel. It was a video call – the caller id read "Zoid Combat Committee".

* * *

><p>Sao stuck his arm into the bathroom door and held out the soap. "Want me to leave it by the door?" He heard a glass panel sliding. "No, no I'll get it." He heard Eura stepping out of the shower and over to him, felt her wet hands take the soap away.<p>

" Sao!" A voice from the hall. "Call!"

Sao leaned back out, just as Eura tried to grasp his arm and drag him in. "From?"

"Zoid Combat Committee?"

"Zoid Combat… Answer it! I'll be there in a second! Don't hang up on them!

* * *

><p>Shrugging, Heiden answered the call. A man of dark blue hair and deep green shades appeared, smiling. His surroundings were too dark to make out.<p>

"Good evening Nova Team."

"That voice… Aren't you-" Heiden started.

"The Backdraft Group!" Sao stumbled out, of his room pulling on his blue and red trenchcoat. "Who else would be using the former title of the Zoid Battle Commission in their communiqués?" He clapped his hands together as he stepped before the screen. "And how can we help you today?"

The man chucked. "I gather from your remark, Mr. Ensiné, that you've been perusing the document we sent you following your previous victory over our warriors."

"And quiet enjoying it." Sao gave a slight nod.

"You can say that again." Heiden slumped into one of the cockpit seats.

"Good to hear." The voice responded.

"Have you been perusing as eagerly as I have, sir?" Sao mused, taking a seat in front of the communicator.

"As a matter of fact, your interest in the document spurned quite the little fire of interest on our end."

"Who's calling, Sao?" Eura's voice. Heiden looked behind him. She had walked out in a lime green bathrobe that barely stretched down past her waist and a crème towel wrapped around her moist hair.

The man kept talking, and Sao kept his attention glued to him. "As you can imagine, our organization strives to provide an exhilarating alternative to the Commission's limited vision. What this document has provided us with is an entirely new approach to that – one we are eager to test." The man leaned forward, smiling, the glare of his communicator lit up his shades. "Mr. Ensiné, have you surveyed the 400 series battle modes?"

Heiden squinted. "400 series…"

Eura turned to him. "What's that mean?"

"I guess it'd be a mode with the code 0400…" Heiden scratched his chin.

"I'd never heard of one of those before!"

"The Commission doesn't recognize them." Sao stated, a hint of excitement in his voice. "…Anymore, that is."

"Wait," Eura looked up, "Doesn't that mean they aren't legal battle modes?"

"Precisely Miss." The cultured man responded. "You're a man of curiosity are you not, Mr. Ensiné? You cannot say you aren't wondering what the ancient battles used to be like."

"Sir, I relish the chance to delve into such modes." Sao's grin of excitement had slipped into a wide smile. His hands trembled – the pulsing of his heart made clear. He quickly brought up his copy of the Compendium on the local computer. "Which mode were you considering, dear sir?"

"Perhaps its better, Mr. Ensiné that I give you a name to call me by, having dealt with us to this extent. You may refer to me as Silvereye. A pseudonym you no doubt have guessed."

"I appreciate the gesture. In what mode shall we do battle, Silvereye?"

"I direct your attention, Mr. Ensiné, to mode 0-4-4-1, entitled 'Pulse War'."

Sao found the passage quickly. His eyes widened. Silvereye chuckled.

"What is it Sao?" Heiden walked over to get a look at the passage. "0-4-4-1, Pulse War. 3 vs 1, single unit to be capable of…" His heart shook.

"Electromagnetic warfare." Silvereye finished the sentence.

"What? Electromagnetic warfare!" Eura jumped back.

"Sao, this is seriously illegal." Heiden eyed him closely.

"Legality doesn't concern me Heiden, but…" Sao looked up, "I am hesitant to expose my Zoid to a technology with so many hazardous rumors to its name."

"Very understandable, Mr. Ensiné, and our group has had the same concerns. We've been undergoing a lot of trouble in the past few weeks to observe the effects of electromagnetic weaponry on Zoids in a fashion less biased than that of the Commission. As expected, the permanent effects of an EMP on Zoids are greatly exaggerated."

"But what are the effects?" Sao leaned his arm on the console as he pondered.

"Our tests did find a degradation in controls and coordination but all negative effects had dissipated after a couple days of low-intensity movement sessions. We'll relay the data to you on a different com-channel once our conversation is over, should you choose to accept."

"Quite cautious aren't we?"

"The Commission satellites can detect electromagnetic radiation in the quantities we're using very easily, and communications they catch wind of which mention it are traced thoroughly. We need not expose our operations prematurely, and rest assured, should you accept our offer, we will begin preparing measures to ensure the match goes uninterrupted. For that reason alone, I would insist upon your answering our request now. You will be compensated handsomely should you win."

"I believe you know my answer."

Heiden sighed. Silvereye grinned. Sao looked up – Eura could almost feel the pulse of his beating heart.

"Where and when, Silvereye?"

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this Sao, hon? Don't you know who those people are?" Eura asked Sao.<p>

"Know?" Heiden grunted, leaning back in the cockpit chair, "He's dealt with em. Went quite well or so he'd say."

The three sat around the cockpit – several hours had passed since the call. They awaited the transmission with the battle coordinates.

"Hey! You got a new Zoid out of that! Stop complaining!" Sao barked.

"Who's complaining?" Heiden grunted back.

"I am!" Eura pouted. "I mean, I'm just… worried about you hon! They don't play by the rules!"

"Well, the last time they tried a free for all, it blew up in their faces. Melted their faces clean off, more precisely." Heiden chuckled.

"But aren't you worried about the electromagnetic pulses?"

"The data they sent seems reasonable – so long as we don't do it every day of the week, its effects aren't permanent. The Commission has plenty of reason to outlaw Eletromagnetic warfare besides danger to Zoids – they like their global surveillance – EMPs tend to mess with that."

"Still…" Heiden's voice now, "I am a bit puzzled Sao. How's a Zoid Battle work when one side can force the other team's command systems offline at will?"

"Ah, that's the true genius in the mode!" Sao brought up the compendium text on the screen. "Normally, when your Zoid's command system freezes, it's due to a hardware malfunction – an inability for the program to work because the Zoid itself has been beaten into submission. In this case, your command system would freeze due to software malfunction – the program itself, not necessarily the Zoid, is being affected. If your command system is taken down via electromagnetic pulse, that isn't necessarily the end for your Zoid." He took a breath and a grin slid onto his face. "Battle mode 0441 allows for its participants to reset and reactivate their command systems if they've frozen."

The room went silent.

A double-beep sounded from the console. Josef, who had till then stood silently at the outskirts of the conversation, rolled over to the controls and received the call. A series of numbers showed up on the com-screen – a text.

"Ah, coordinates." Sao clapped his hands together. "Get us rolling, Josef!" The robot gave a nod and started up the stalled Dragoon's Nest, which shook slightly as it lifted off the Cliffside where it had parked.

"Wait, Sao?" Heiden stood shakily as the Dragoon's Nest set off. "If both teams can reset their command systems, when is the battle over?"

Sao turned back to Heiden. "When their Zoids are too beaten up for their command systems to restart." He grinned.

"Hm. And they get free shots at us while we're restarting our systems huh."

"Yes, but an electromagnetic pulse takes time to charge, and it's still a three on one battle."

"True enough." Heiden nodded. "Alright, what's the plan?"

"We're really gonna do this?" Eura exclaimed once more.

"Get with the program Eura, he's made up his mind." Heiden replied.

She walked up to Sao, looking up with pleading eyes, "Aren't you…"

"What?"

Slowly, Eura bowed her head. "…Ok." She said, wrapping her arms around Sao.. "As long as you're determined, I'll go for it too." She put on a light smile. Sao patted her on the head, then looked up with a grin.

"Alright then. Let's get planning."

* * *

><p>After an hour of flight, they reached the coordinates, where they found a message with the battle time – a day away. The Backdraft group, Sao speculated, was especially paranoid of disruption of what was certainly being (correctly) billed as a battle of a kind not seen in centuries. It was an uneventful day. Sao brainstormed plans but ultimately concluded there was too little information to go on – the battlefield, the opponent Zoid specs, and most prominently, the true flow of an electromagnetic pulse battle, to commit to any plan. The rest of the hours whittled away by lack of sleep and a surplus of tension (and a small set of increasingly one-sided 'Go' matches).<p>

At last, as dusk set on, a black Demantis appeared on the horizon, and gestured the group onward. They journeyed north, passed between 3 relays of Demantises until at last, a com channel was opened up from a Zoid clearly ahead but obscured by the last remains of a crumbling mountain.

"Greetings Nova Team. The battlefield is close at hand. You'll want to exit your Dragoon's Nest now and park it behind this mountain to shield it from any electromagnetic pulses that the battle could generate."

Not missing a beat, Josef rushed to the controls and parked the carrier Zoid.

The voice continued. "Move your Zoids around the mountain – the Demantises will guide you to your position. Distraction measures are in place around the continent, but we don't have all the time in the world, so let's get moving. Don't mind the domes in the ground – they're shielded cameras for our observers."

Sao had been waiting in the Trinity Liger since the first Demantis passed them on. He opened the deck remotely and headed out, slowly so Heiden and Eura wouldn't fall too far behind. He opened a comlink to the mystery warrior. "Will do sir. We'll be there in 5 minutes. Would it be appropriate yet to ask who our opponent will be, and if not, who you are?"

As the Houndsoldier and Evoflyer climbed out the back of the parked Dragoon's Nest, Sao's Trinity Liger made its way around the mountain. The voice responded.

"Very much so. Call me Jihnera. I'll be your opponent tonight."

The sight beyond the mountain was bleak – a violet-grey wasteland, the ruins of an old city perhaps, but with no buildings taller than a Zoid. The area was surrounded by mountains on all sides – all the better to keep isolated from the Commission's watch, but the ruins extended far and away. Most of the physical cover came in the form of uneven rocks, but a low clinging mist-like cloud of dust obscured much of the field visually. As Jihnera had noted, rusty dark domes had been scattered about the field – low cameras, but cameras nonetheless. No trees could be seen.

And at the edge of the field, behind a dilapidated building, orange eyes set into a small, black head gazed at the liger. Two 144mm machine guns were nestled behind its neck, and two double barreled cannons were set beside them. Behind those guns, a far more intimidating sight – dark, thin, electric spines thrusting up and out of the back – each with the sheen of a solar panel, but a sharp, visceral silhouette.

A Dark Spiner – one of the last Zoids capable of electromagnetic warfare through the shimmering spines of its jamming blade array.

It stepped slowly back into the wastes, accompanied by a host of Demantises. The image burned into his mind, Sao lead his team into the battlefield, his own Demantises paving the way.

The three team members were placed in close formation and the Demantises left the field. An unusually large, black judge capsule made landing an unusually far distance away. The corresponding thud seemed to pulsate through the very ground. The reasoning was made obvious soon – the capsule had been fitted with a large, complex shell of EMP resistance material (quite expensive and massive to boot). The cover peeled off like an insect's skin, revealing the familiar form of the Dark Judge, who seemed to be fidgeting.

"Area… Battlefield. Participants set-scanned- Argh! Why do I have to remember all these rules- Hm?" He noticed that the capsule had opened, and out of some unnecessarily programmed habit, cleared his throat. "Ahem! The a-re-a… Within a… 80 kilomter ra-di-us… Has…" He seemed to be looking for a non-existent script… "Been… Desig-… Desaaig….Gah! This is a Zoid Battlefield! If you're closer than 80 kilometers, and you're not fighting get the hell out!" He sighed.

"Huh, even the Judge is getting in the sprit!" Heiden laughed. "See Eura? We're all going through something new!" She gave a half-hearted laugh. Sao chuckled, then straightened up.

"Alright you two, heads up. There's a good bit of debris around here which means low visibility even though there's a lot of room to run." He exhaled. "It's about to start."

The judge nodded, seemingly to a communicator, before turning back to the far off participants. "Mm? Right? Alright! Alright you wimps! The battlefield is scanned and the area is set up! The Nova Team vs the Dark Spiner! Battle mode 0-4-4-1!"

The outer layer of the capsule shut, leaving only the judge's visor visible, and a smaller shell ready to quickly shut if necessary. His nasal voice, muffled but loud, rang out over the battlefield.

"All warriors ready? FIIIGHT!"

The words fell like a weight into a lake – heavy, slow, taking their time to sink in. Sao broke the silence.

"Eura, your radar has that most range. You see him?"

"Uh… There's something fuzzy about 20 kilometers northeast."

"Alright. Stay in visual contact, but spread out. We don't want to go down in a pack if his pulse comes. I'll head in first, then Eura, then Heiden. When the person in front of you is at the edge of your visual range, start following. Keep your eyes open! Yell if you see him." With that, he moved the Trinity Liger forth into the dark, violet dust, kicking up a fair share of it as he walked.

The trio set off into the wastes, each separated by 10 zoid-lengths or so. The dust-caked ground made for a tenuous grip, but the slow pace kept their Zoids steady.

"Eura, his reading getting any clearer? I'm not seeing him." Sao mused.

"I don't think so… I'm not even sure I was seeing him before…"

"Wonderful. Heiden You see anything?"

"Iii..oot…ot-ting."

"Heiden?" Sao fiddled with the communicator controls.

"…ao? S..o hon?" Eura's voice had become similarly garbled.

"He's jamming us…" Sao grunted. "Hopefully he can't pulse and jam at the same time." He turned his eyes to his radar – a static-ridden mess.

"S…o! Sao!" Eura yelled. Sao wheeled the Trinity Liger around – the Evoflyer was stumbling towards him.

"No Eura! We need to stay spread out! Eura!"

BAM BAM! Blasts from a double-barreled cannon hit nearby. "He's here!" Heiden yelled. Sao heard, turned, fired. Missed. The shadowy form of the Dark Spiner was present, but too far.

"I'm going after him! Eura, support from the flank! Heid-" As the Trinity Liger advanced, Sao realized. "Wait, the communications are back- Heiden run!"

Not pausing to respond, but placing his faith in Sao's words, Heiden turned the Houndsoldier left and sent the Zoid running. Sao stopped in his tracks, sliding a ways in the dust, just enough to see the Dark Spiner – its Jamming Array glowing with blue electric discharges. "Eura! Get out! R-" He tried to say, but too late.

A wave of energy surged out of the Dark Spiner – a torrent of radiation pulsating out in a circular rush. "Oh no!" The Dark Judge yelled, slamming the capsule shut to avoid the blast. The Trinity Liger had no such defense. Its golden eyes flickered, and blacked out – and its metal body followed suit, hitting the ground with a burst of dust.

"Sao!" Eura yelled, running towards the blast, only to be flung back and shut down by the energy.

Heiden had gained good speed in the opposite direction, but couldn't outrun the burst. It caught the Houndsoldier, putting its legs in a lock. Inertia drove the lifeless Zoid forward, digging into the ground and crashing straight through a low concrete wall before grinding to a halt.

The recoil nearly sent Heiden flying into the dashboard. The visual screen still functioned, though there was only dirt to see. A few interior lights stayed lit, but his control screens had gone black or corrupt. Not wasting a moment, he reached to the switches under the console and began to restart the Houndsoldier command system.

Back in the center of the battlefield, Sao mashed his own reset commands, increased fervor. An explosion shook the cockpit. He could see through the static that the Dark Spiner was walking closer and could feel it blasting the Trinity Liger into nothingness. "C'mon girl. Come on!" At last the eyes flickered into light. The Dark Spiner stopped its assault and ran. "A nicely done hit and run… Ugh!" Sao set the Liger to stand. Its sides were burned and steaming, but its legs seemed mostly intact.

"Sao!" The Evoflyer moved slowly towards the Trinity Liger.

"I'm fine Eura. Can't say the same about the Liger's Photon Cutter though. Heiden!"

"Coming, Sao!"

"No need. We just need to find him before he can recharge the array. Communications aren't reliable here – just shoot if you see him! Eura, that goes for you too!"

"D- Don't worry Sao! I'll make him pay for attacking your beautiful Trinity Liger!" Eura switched the evo-flyer into its flight mode.

"Eura wait! Don't fly!"

"Don… ry.. hin!" Eura's broken response.

"Dammit! He's back to jamming already!" Sao growled, pressing the Liger forward.

The tip of the judge capsule opened again. "Is it over? Argh! They're at it again! Just kill them, somebody!" He yelled.

Click! Heiden switched off his radar as he moved. No point in keeping it on when it was this unreliable – maybe it would reduce the restart time. He kept his sight focused on the visual sensors – he'd settled into a brisk pace cutting across the wastes.

A flash – in the corner of his eye. Cannon fire cutting down from above – had Eura started flying? He moved towards the commotion. He could see the shadow of the Dark Spiner below, making a run for it – was its charge incomplete? He gripped the throttle and moved towards it, aiming the hound buster cannon for a quick strike. The Spiner moved closer toward the Evoflyer circling above.

"Who's he going for..." Heiden wondered aloud, "He has no anti-air weaponry, and he can't get up to… oh no."

"Take this!" Eura's yelled as she let forth another round from her AZ assault rifles.

"The comlink's on… Eura! Stop!" Heiden yelled, stopping the Houndsoldier.

"Eura! Land now!" Sao's voice rang out, as the form of the Trinity Liger rose over the opposite hill.

"Aaaargh!" she yelled, too loud to hear her teammates.

By now the Dark Spiner had found a place right below the Evoflyer, and its jamming array glowed again. Heiden whipped the Houndsoldier around and ran once more. Sao dug into the ground and fired a few rounds off with his twin beam cannons – no hits – he was too far. Once again the pulse of blue energy ripped through the atmosphere, pausing the Liger in its steps, sending the running Houndsoldier into a trip (and a slide another 150 meters into a pile of rusted steel), and surging through the Evoflyer's wings until it fell from the sky like a paperweight falls from the edge of a desk – slamming into a cloud of dust nearby. The Judge let out a wailing screech, closing his capsule once more just in time. It seemed to tremble in the seconds afterwards. Whether from the residual current or the Judge's nervousness, it was hard to tell.

The Spiner, its array still rife with electricity, walked over to the fallen Evoflyer. It moved right up to it, until even its miniature form towered over the lifeless Zoid, suffused Eura's visual screen with its presence.

"Sao? Sao!" Her heart beat too fast, her hands trembled too much to reset her Zoid. The Spiner let loose its 144 mm machine guns, gutting the Evoflyer and rocking the cockpit like a storm. "Aaaaaaaa!" Eura cried out, though no one could hear her.

"Eura! Eura hang in there!" Sao got the Liger walking once more, and fired off a closer shot at the Spiner, who backed away to reveal the steaming black wreckage that once was the Evoflyer. Sao gritted his teeth, as he continued yelling at Eura. "Eura! Say something! Eura!"

"Don't hold your breath for an answer, Ensiné." Jihnera's voice flowed clear over the comlink. "But take in the sight. That'll be your Liger soon." Sao growled.

"Arrggh!" The Dark Judge gasped for breath as he opened the top part of his capsule again. "Huh? Oh! There's one! Nova Team Unit 3 is down! Now get the other ones quickly!" It let out an exasperated sigh.

Heiden maneuvered the Houndsoldier up, cringing as flakes of rubble rolled of its head. "This won't be kind on the paint…Or the joints." He looked behind – the tracks stretched out almost too far to trace. He squinted. Looked down –the comlink seemed normal.

"Sao?" Heiden called out.

"What is it…" Sao asked, breathing hard.

"He'll start jamming soon so I can't explain but… I..." He gathered himself, "I have a plan!"

Sao paused for thought. Let out a breath. "Excellent. What's my role?"

"Keep him in one place! Hold him drrennn. Sssro?" The comlink shut off.

"Hold him down. Heheh. I see where you're going buddy. I like it."

BAM! A blast near the Trinity Liger. Sao leapt back, and wheeled around – the Dark Spiner stood atop a small granite hill.

"Gotta get him near…" He moved the Liger slowly back, barely flinching at subsequent shots. The Spiner followed closer and closer.

"What's wrong Ensiné? Did I hit your Liger's legs too?" He fired again. Sao made a small parry. He wasn't hit, but he pressed the Liger down to the ground as if he was. "Face it, your obsession with battle modes has caught up to you!" Jihnera approached closer. "Anytime you get too close, I'll just black you all out. You can't attack when you can't even move."

"True!" Heiden yelled. Jihnera looked behind. Just barely a prick in the distance, opposite Sao, the Houndsoldier stood, its forelegs stretched out.

"Rarrgh!" Sao thrust the Trinity Liger forward, slammed into the Dark Spiner and latching its claws into its shoulder blades. "And you're the one who won't be moving!" Sao grinned.

The Houndsoldier started moving, running, prancing into a blur, straight towards the Dark Spiner's back.

"Are you stupid Ensiné? You can't move if your Zoid's gone black!" The Dark Spiner's jamming array began charging.

"That's where you're wrong." Heiden grinned. "Houndsoldier! Full speed!" He slammed the throttle forward, its run melting into a rhythm, a beat, a pulse.

"Stay down!" Jihnera yelled as the charge surged into the air once more.

"Oh no!" The Dark Judge retreated into his dark shell.

"Raarrrgh!" Heiden yelled. The radiation surged through the Liger, locked it into place, pressing down into the Spiner. And when the wave hit the approaching Houndsoldier, its legs locked out, but its speed didn't trail off. It sped towards the Spiner, body just above the ground, and rammed into the Spiner sending a tremendous shockwave through the ground.

One last time the Judge peeked out of his capsule. "Hm? Wha? No Zoid readings detected! Aaah! What happens now?"

Eyes flickered on in the rubble.

"Hm? Oh! A Zoid! It's… It's…"

Shakily, the Trinity Liger rose beside the Dark Spiner.

"It's the Trinity Liger!"

With an electric fizz, the eyes of the Houndsoldier lit up.

"And the Houndsoldier! Is that – is that?"

The Dark Spiner sat silent, devoid of will to fight.

"That's it! Battle over! Battle over, battle over! The winner is the Nova Team! Get me out of here!" The capsule closed again and its rockets started up.

The Liger wasn't watching. It climbed onto the corpse of the Spiner and let out a piercing roar. The Houndsoldier climbed up beside him and sent the heavens an echoing howl. The battle was over. The battle was won.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad your clients got something out of it as well!" Sao's voice replied over the intercom.<p>

"It was a larger operation than you are aware, but personally, the battle shook me to my core, Mr. Ensiné. Bravo." From the sound of it, Silvereye was giving a slow, appreciative clap. Heiden sighed. He'd made his way away from the smoldering wreck that was the Dark Spiner, in spite of Sao who stayed there continuing his talk with Silvereye. Though he didn't feel like participating, he wasn't above listening.

"You will be compensated as promised. It should more than cover the repairs for your units and reward you for your work."

That clicked Heiden's memory. He maneuvered the Houndsoldier over to the remains of the Evoflyer. He could see the Dragoon's Nest approaching a ways off.

Sao continued talking. "Not at all. Should you endeavor to undertake another ancient battle mode in the future, don't hesitate to call."

"If the response proves as successful as I suspect it has been, I think our Dark Battles may have a new turn in store. I won't be able to make you privy to the details I'm afraid, but with luck this will become a more common occurrence."

"That would be a bright day indeed."

Heiden opened the cockpit and leapt down to the Evoflyer – not a large fall, but large enough to make a resonant thunk when he hit the Evoflyer head. "Eura?" No answer. He fiddled around at the edge, finally locating a manual activation switch that cast the cockpit open slowly.

Inside, Eura sat trembling, her arms wrapped around her legs. "Hey? We're done. C'mon."

"Is he… angry at me?"

"Pfft. We won, who cares?" Heiden smiled and offered her a hand.

"You two won… I can't… I…"

"What is it?" Heiden moved closer to her. She was sobbing. She tried to finish her sentence but no words came.

Heiden tried looking away – it was awkward to make eye contact – but he could only see the beaten hull of the Evoflyer, could only return his gaze to its pilot.

"It was… too… too much…" She cried.

He sighed, and at last, sat down beside her, and put an arm around her shoulder. Slowly, she shifted her weight until her head pressed against his chest as she continued to sob. Heiden thought it'd be a good time to say something profound, but felt he wasn't profound enough to find something meaningful to say.

So he just held her close as she cried, not knowing how profound it was for her to be held.


	9. Chapter 9: Absolute Cat and Mouse

Chapter 9: Absolute Cat and Mouse

"Checkmate!" Heiden smiled triumphantly as he slammed his piece down.

"In checkers?" Josef asked.

"They use the same board!" Heiden gestured to the black and white marble board on which the round, metal checkers pieces had been placed. The board had hosted a chess game between the two the prior week.

"Same as what?" Eura asked, leaning toward Heiden from her spot on the tableside sofa at the far edge of the Dragoon's Nest cockpit.

"Another game, you weren't there." Heiden smiled.

"Oh? How'd that one go?"

"Well." Josef responded. The group laughed.

"Well, well!" Sao walked in from the hall. "Glad we're all enjoying- what is that music?" He gestured to the console, which was playing a classical piece.

"Oh, that's uh, Symphony 99 by… Crap, who was that one?" Heiden looked to Josef, who shrugged. "Well, we don't know who wrote it, but Leon and Naomi sent it over the other day. They sent some Sonata piece too. 54 I think? Great stuff."

"It's classy!" Eura said smiling.

"It's classic." Heiden laughed.

"It's completely irrelevant to the topic of conversation but," Sao walked right up to the group at the table, "We have arrived."

"Arrived?" Heiden batted an eyebrow. "We've actually been heading somewhere all this time?"

"Well, yes, but that's not where we've arrived at."

"Now I'm even more confused." Heiden glanced jokingly at Eura, who giggled. Sao cleared his throat.

"We have arrived at the Enseit Canyon, whose cliff-side rest post, shopping center, and café attracts patrons from near and far. Today three of those patrons will be us."

"So we're here to patronize them?" Heiden responded with a smirk. Josef made a strange beep-like noise. Heiden stood up. "Did you just laugh?" He turned to Eura, "Eura, tell me you just heard Josef laugh."

The girl struggled to respond through her own uproarious giggling, "Ha-I don't kno-o-oh ha ah ha!"

Sao let out an amused grunt before continuing. "Well, we may do some of that, but mostly I'm here to meet an old friend."

"Alright, fine. So why did we need to know about this?" Heiden leaned back in his seat again, glancing at the board again in response to light tapping by Josef's hands. The robot had gotten a piece to Heiden's back row and was thus to be 'kinged'.

"I'm glad you asked." Sao strolled a few steps past the table and clicked a button on the nearby console. The Zoid radar flashed into being on the main screen – a cornucopia of dots lined the canyon, like the arm of a spiral galaxy, into which the Dragoon's Nest was about to enter. "As you can see, our passage through the area has been highly anticipated."

"Backdraft?"

"Paparazzi more likely, from the uncoordinated movements. And I'd rather not bother my friend with undue commotion if I can help it. So," he turned back to the group, "We'll be splitting up. You'll head out first. Head down that southern route to the canyon bridge, and make yourself visible. Meanwhile I'll surreptitiously head north and have my meeting. Few hours pass, we'll switch places, you all eat or do as you will, and we'll be… off." He smirked at the last few words.

"Ok, I guess, but why are the onlookers gonna follow me and not you?" Heiden said as he reached out to king Josef's piece.

"Because you'll be going in the Trinity Liger."

Heiden's hand slipped, knocking over half the pieces on the board.

"Ugh." Josef groaned.

"Accident!" Heiden blurted out.

"Right." The robot muttered.

Heiden turned back to Sao. "I'm going out in the Trinity?"

"Yes. And I'll be commandeering your Houndsoldier." Heiden paused, noted his mouth was slightly agape, and closed it. Eura leaned toward him.

"Heiden?"

He smiled. "Alright. If you can trust me with the Trinity, I'll trust you with the Houndsolider."

"Well it was mine at one point, after all." Sao winked, walking down the hall. "Josef, man the cargo bays, then park the Dragoon's Nest somewhere in the smaller crevices. This place is full of them. C'mon Heiden!"

With a stiff salute, Josef slid away from the table and towards the controls. Heiden stood and straightened his collar. He couldn't help noticing Eura fidgeting as she leaned back on the sofa. He scratched his chin awhile at the sight.

"Heiden, you better go." She piped in.

"Hey, Eura."

"Hm?"

"Did Sao let you see inside the Trinity before?"

"No." She said with a shrug.

"Well, you wanna have a look?" She looked up, almost skeptical. "You won't get another chance." He grinned. She grinned back.

* * *

><p>The Trinity Liger sped out of the Dragoon's Nest, racing down the rock path towards the bridge, and kicking up a mountain of red dust in its wake. Its wide, uneven, but nonetheless blazing fast stride hinted at its pilot's struggles. Those struggles happened to come with a voice.<p>

"Whoa! Damn! It's got all the speed and twice the build! It's like piloting a rock out of a cannon! Argh!" A jumble of frightened yells blended into excited screams. Sao could only hear the dialogue through the Houndsoldier intercom, but he felt inclined to smirk.

"Move over! It's too rough here!" Eura's voice. Sao wasn't exactly clear where she was sitting or why she was along, but he didn't feel inclined to ask.

"It's rough everywhere! Lemme just try and…"

"Whoa!"

Sao leaned back in his seat. "Be gentle with her." He said softly, not sure he could be heard.

"I'm trying!"

"How do you stand this Zoid, Sao?" Eura yelled out, more bemused that frustrated.

"He's a better pilot! Wait! Okay. I get it now!"

"Whoa, hey! Not bad Heiden! It's running a lot smoother." Eura said.

"Heheh, just gotta get to know it!" Assorted laughter from both parties.

Sao nodded to himself, as he began activating the Houndsoldier's internal systems and acclimating himself to the controls.

"Heiden, stop!"

"Oh sorry!" Nervous laughter from Heiden. Sao snorted.

"No stop!"

"Huh? Aaaah!"

Sao paused. Jumbled screams and rubble. "You alright?" Heiden asked.

"Little abrupt doncha think?"

"You said to stop." He sounded half mocking and half accusatory.

"Well yeah. You were gonna miss the Bridge. It's to the right."

"Huh? Oh right. Right."

The sounds of the Trinity moving once more. Sao shook his head, deactivating the intercom. He cracked his knuckles. "Alright old girl, it's been awhile. Let's get movin'." He pressed the throttle forward.

FWOOOM! He was thrust back as the Houndsoldier leapt out of the cargo bay and sailed for the rock walls around the path. Thinking quick, Sao flipped the hind legs forward, landing on the wall side and rebounding for a less-than-soft landing.

"Ugh. All the speed and half the build. It's like piloting a…" He stopped, and chuckled, shaking his head, then set the Houndsoldier off at a brisk pace.

* * *

><p>A large iron bundle of pikes, weaved together like roots, supported the otherwise nondescript silver bridge over the gaping chasm of Enseit Canyon. Below, a serene river had carved its way through the mountains over thousands of years. A little ways down, the Enseit Rest Post stood perched over the water. And on the bridge proper, a wave of Zoids lied in wait.<p>

Then, it happened. As if receiving a call, which many had, they set off towards the north side of the bridge. Sure enough, the Trinity rounded the corner as if on a schedule and continued bounding towards them.

It reached the middle and ground to a rickety stop. "Well, I guess he'd want us to wait around and bask in the attention." Heiden mused.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Eura said, unclipping the seat belt that had been stretched to its capacity and climbing off Heiden to stretch in the spacious cockpit. The couple looked outside.

The Zoids seemed unperturbed, continuing to bound past them, until only a pack of standard-green cannon tortoises and an orange Gul Tiger remained. The two stared at each other, puzzled.

Heiden fell back into the seat. "I can't believe it." He turned to a puzzled Eura. "His reputation's finally run dry."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe this." Sao muttered from the Houndsoldier cockpit, mouth agape.<p>

"Heiden Aeross! Is it true you dealt the final blow in an illegal battle with the Backdraft?" A reporter yelled out from a blue Cannonfort with 'Zoid Legends Weekly' plastered on the side in large red letters.

"Mr. Aeross! Is it true the battle involved some kind of illegal toxic chemical weapons?" Another reporter shouted from the head of a green Brachios, "Were you aware that the Commission…"

"Heiden! The fans want to know!" A female voice called from a bright red Merda, "What's your favorite music?"

Sao groaned, massaging his brow. "His reputation's finally blossoming." He let out a sigh, looking longingly at the towering white rest post behind the assembly of reporters' Zoids. "Well, nothing like hard facts to calm down the sensationalist news media." He unbuckled the seatbelt and flipped a lever atop the cockpit roof.

"HEIDEN AEROSS, ARE YOU SINGLE?" A voice boomed out from a pink Diloforce.

With a slow, pneumatic hiss, the top of the Houndsoldier head lifted, revealing the bemused, cross-armed Sao to the assembly.

"Hello." He waved.

An awkward silence settled in. The silence coalesced into a sea of muttering. Then it simply broke.

"Mr. Ensiné, did your apprentice, Heiden Aeross, make a finishing blow in an illegal match with the Back-"

"Sao Ensiné, how long have you been mentoring Heiden Aeross? Can you comment on his progress? Is there any reason why you're piloting his Houndsold-"

"Sao, do you know anything about Heiden's taste in music?"

"Uhh…" Sao looked up blankly. "He likes classical?"

* * *

><p>"Did he take off all the switch labels?" Eura wondered aloud as she looked over the Trinity Console, a sleek, ergonomic, black slate of glowing blue buttons and control sticks. Indeed, where one might have found labels, there were only shiny chrome borders, tinted orange from the Liger's cockpit glass.<p>

"I feel like there was a reason for that." Heiden scratched at his hair as he leaned over beside her.

"Oh wait! Here's one! 'Burning Armor?' Whaddya suppose…" She reached toward the switch, and its corresponding steel-inscribed label.

"No wait!" Heiden yelled.

BAM! BAM! The twin beam cannons let off a massive round, rocking the cockpit and flinging Eura into Heiden's lap. "He said…" Heiden grunted.

"Mm?" Eura asked, not making an effort to get up.

"He used to have labels, but he took them off, cuz he changed around the inputs so much that they became unreliable."

The two sat up to survey the damage. A large debris cloud was settling over the canyon – it appeared that the beam cannons had burst fully over the center of the canyon, creating a great spectacle, but thankfully not hitting anyone. The two looked at each other and laughed nervously.

"Hey you see that?" Eura pointed behind Heiden towards the Rest Post. A spray of dust was rising – the telltale signs of a crowd of Zoids. They shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you see that?" The elevator operator asked. "I never seen so many Zoids take off so quick!"<p>

Sao shrugged.

"Heard they was looking for some hot-shot Warrior. Rides a Houndsoldier."

"Well, word is he's piloting a Trinity Liger today. They caught sight of his beam cannons earlier and ran off."

"Mm. He really all that?

Sao grinned. "Well he's certainly got timing."

The elevator tone went off, and the operator gestured to the door. "Level 5, food court, bars and the Café Duseres." Sao gave a light bow and strode out to the smooth polished floor.

The café wasn't hard to find – modernist and simple in construction, but lit with soft amber lighting that complemented its warm aroma. And sitting around a sleek glass table, he found the friend he'd set out to meet.

"Well, if it isn't Stigma Stoller!" Sao called out, walking up the man.

"Sao Ensiné!" He stood up, brushing a strand of pale lavender hair out of his eyes, and extended a hand. "It has been awhile."

Sao gripped the gloved hand and gave a hearty shake. "Over a year at least! Oh, Stoller, I see you've finally put that team together!" Sao gestured to a man and woman sitting at the other seats of the table.

"Ah yes, it has been that long hasn't it! Ensiné, may I introduce the Neophander Team. Here, my old associate, Sanders." Sanders jolted upwards and gave a salute.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Ensiné."

"Sao, Sanders, please!" Sao reached out to shake his hand, which Sanders hesitantly did.

"The Captain's told me a lot about you. I'm really…"

"Relax, we'll get around to all in good time, knowing this man." He pat Sanders on the shoulder. "And who's this lovely lady?" He looked to the left at a woman leaning back in her chair, her face obscured by long green hair.

"Ah, and this is a more recent acquaintance, Pierce."

"Ms. Pierce." Sao gave a light bow.

Pierce stood smoothly, brushing the hair out of her face to reveal a bright red suit and seductive smile. "Stoller tells me you're a very interesting man, Sao Ensiné."

"Always a pleasure to hear, Ms. Pierce."

"Pierce, please." Pierce laughed.

"And you can call me Sao."

"Have you always been this sociable?" Chuckled Stoller.

"Now I think about it, I have been getting something of an influx of sociability in my life."

"The man had been living with robots for the longest time, not the healthiest lifestyle, I should say." Stoller said slyly to Sanders.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss robots, Stoller. They play a mean game of checkers." Sanders chuckled.

"Ahem. sorry Captain."

"Nonsense, Sanders!" Stoller grinned, "To laugh a little makes use of the heart. That said, perhaps we should make use of these chairs and have a seat?"

"And when'd you develop a sense of humor?"

"Only a sense for it." The group chuckled and sat down. "Seems you've acquired something of a following Ensiné."

"You'd have one too if started fighting."

"We're just taking our sweet time dear." Pierce said, pouring out a stream of milk into a icy glass mug of coffee and passing it over to Sao. "No sense getting worked up. You'll just run around chasing things."

Sao smiled, "Well if the right people are watching, you might just catch what you're chasing." He looked around the table, holding up his mug to for a cheer.

"To the fanbase?"

"To the fanbase." The group chorused with a laugh.

* * *

><p>"Guess it's different to his fanbase." Eura said, leaning back on Heiden.<p>

"Shouldn't you know? I thought you were a part of it." Heiden mused, putting his hands on her knees.

She sighed, took his hands and dragged his arms around her. "I _was_."

"Well, wasn't he just everything you'd ever dreamed about?" Heiden droned sarcastically as he looked aside.

"Hm." Eura sighed. "You can look up to him. You can just look at him." She grinned and Heiden chuckled. "He's confident. But… He doesn't have everything I'd ever dream of." She turned over and laid her head against Heiden's chest. " He's not always there when you want him to be."

"He's with his Zoids and his battle modes. Always."

" Ain't that the truth." She looked up.

"You know, I never asked. Where did _you_ first meet him?

* * *

><p>"I first met this man, " Sao nudged Stoller, "At a bar, a good year back."<p>

"This joke better have a good punchline." Pierce laughed.

"Pierce! This is serious!" Sanders chimed in.

"No it's not." "No it's not." Sao and Stoller chorused.

"The man was frustrated, and rightly so." Sao took a swig of coffee, and reached for a sugar pack.

"Frustrated?" Sanders asked.

"Quite, Sanders." Stoller nodded, "This was just before I left the Backdraft with you. It was this man who gave me the idea!" He put his arm around Sao.

"Hey, all I said was that if you wanted to fight the guy one on one, you could challenge him in mode 0992!"

"So that's where he got the idea." Sanders scratched his chin.

"I never asked," Sao turned back to Stoller, "Did you beat him?"

"I did not. But I think that was the match where I first felt what a good battle mode could do. If a loss or two is the only price for pursuing the most new, ingenious, and heart pounding battles, I'd gladly pursue those all my life."

"Truer words, never said!" Sao gave a hearty nod.

"And how goes your pursuit? Still saving for that stadium?"

"And closer than ever."

"Now there's a place I'd like to battle."

"I'd like to have you, if it ever gets built."

"''Course it will! That girl's still bugging you about it isn't she?"

"Girl?" Pierce sat up.

"I'm bugging her more like. On my way to meet her now as it happens." Sao responded.

"Who is this girl?" Pierce leaned in.

"Childhood friend wasn't it?" Stoller asked.

"Yeah. Haven't seen her in person since… longer than since I seen you!"

"Ho-oh! Hope she still remembers you."

"But I'm sure you'll find someone else if she doesn't." Pierce grinned, leaning towards Sao.

"…Yeah." Sao sighed, flagging down a passing waiter for a refill.

"Been keeping busy besides that?" Stoller asked as he drained the rest of his coffee.

"Yeah. Just came from a rather interesting battle with some of your former associates."

"Oh?"

"Man named Silvereye ring a bell?" Nods of recognition from around the table. "So you know him."

"I'd only met him a couple times." Pierce said, leaning back. "He had a very keen passion for the structure of battles, and what made them… interesting."

"The Organization, however, didn't share that passion. They viewed the element of danger as more integral to the Backdraft way, and his views had been pushed aside. He was a good man. It's nice to know he's getting somewhere." Stoller replied. "Who was the pilot?"

"Jihnera ring a bell?"

"No. Sanders?"

"I think I may've seen his name on one of the recruiting lists… But I can't be sure, sir."

"A new one then. Not much we can say."

"Mm. So, you're all headed back now?"

"No."

"No."

"No."

"Sorry I asked!" Sao leaned back to laughter from the group.

"Well…" Sanders said, before pausing. Stoller gestured him to speak on. "It was a toughening experience. I met the Captain there." Stoller gave a slight nod and a smile. "But life on our terms has none of the hierarchy and all of the action, and for all the extra expenses we end up with…" He smiled, "It's free."

"Well said, Sanders."

"Not bad kid." Pierce nudged the man.

"Mm. And just what Zoid do you run Sanders?" Sao leaned on his arm.

"The Captain provided a Madthunder for my usage. I haven't risen to his expectations yet, but I do enjoy it."

"Well maybe we should give you the chance to rise to those expectations."

Stoller grinned. "Now that, Ensiné, is what I've been waiting to hear."

* * *

><p>"You hear something?" Eura asked. A rumbling began to pervade the cockpit.<p>

"Wait a minute…" Heiden reached over to the console where they had previously decided the Zoid radar was, and flicked it on. They were surrounded.

"Heiden Aeross! Are you in there? Why did you steal Sao Ensiné's Zoid? Was it an argument or is Sao just a di-"

"Mr. Aeross, can you confirm the rumors that you dealt the final blow to a giant, radioactive, soul-sapping Gogulas deployed by the Backdraft a few days ago?"

"Heiden, we heard you like Classical music, what's your favorite Sonata?

Eura and Heiden looked at each other and laughed. She reached to the switch that threw open the cockpit, not leaving her spot in Heiden's lap. With a pneumatic hiss, the orange glass top of the Trinity Liger swung open, and a voice rang out.

"HEIDEN AEROSS, ARE YOU SINGL-" Heiden and Eura stood. "OH. NEVER MIND."

The crowd of Zoids surged closer. Eura reached down with her foot, and hit the switch turning on the internal microphones.

"Uh… I like Sonata 54!" Heiden smiled. Eura hugged him, giggling. The crowd went wild.

From the Rest Post side of the bridge, a dark blue Elephander, a navy green Madthunder, a steely Storm Sworder, and Heiden's sandy brown Houndsoldier walked a slow pace toward the commotion, limited by the speed of the Elephander, and the walking speed of the Storm Sworder.

"You sure you can spare the time?" Sao asked.

"Why put off the occasion? You're the one in a rush." Stoller responded.

"I wouldn't call it a rush, I'm just on the road. And I always got time for a good battle. I do like that choice. Seems fitting, with me running here and there all day long. Heiden!"

"Hey, get in line!" A reporter shouted back.

"Sao? Sao you there?"

"Get over here Heiden, Eura! We gotta get you back in the right Zoids!"

"You don't mean?"

A reporter jutted in, "HAVE YOU BEEN CHALLENGED TO A BATTLE MR. ENSINÉ?"

"You guessed it!"

And in what may well have felt like the crowning moment of Sao's life, the crowd shouted in unison.

"What's the battle mode?"

Stoller answered, "0959."

"Absolute Dynamic Cat and Mouse?" Heiden yelled.

"You done it before?" Eura asked.

"Somethin' like it." He responded. "When do we start?"

"1 hour."

"Alright!" Heiden paused. "Wait, what?"

* * *

><p>"Well, no one was using the area, and we though making plans up on the spot would be more interesting for all of us!" Sao responded, now back in the Trinity Liger.<p>

"It's just such a quick turnaround." Heiden replied from the Houndsoldier.

"I'm sure we'll get by." Eura stretched out the Evoflyer wings.

The three were now assembled in a shallower, narrow set of canyons nearby. The rocky paths had given way to dust and sand and the walls had become higher and more cracked. It was a natural labyrinth not suited to the usual fare of battle modes and thus not in use when the teams asked to reserve it. However, one suspected that the added pressure of a pack of ecstatic reporters calling in may have guided the Commission's decision to provide a Judge on such short notice.

The Judge had perched himself near the assembly of reporters, who had amassed atop a nearby, flat Cliffside. "ALL unauthorized personnel MUST leave the area! Danger! You there! Did you not hear me the first time! Press are not authorized!"

"Who's idea was the mode Sao?" Heiden asked.

"It was a mutual decision. I get along quite well with that man." Sao replied.

"We have a plan?" Eura stroked her controls, grinning.

"We'll see when the Judge declares initiative." Sao responded.

"What?"

"You'll see." Heiden replied.

The Judge called out, "Area scanned! Battlefield set-up! The Nova team versus the Neophander Team. Battle mode 0-9-5-9! Ready…. FIGHT!"

Silence spread over the battlefield. The Judge made his proclamation: "The Nova Team has initiative! 5 minutes till initiative switch!"

"Alright let's go!" Sao yelled, pushing the Trinity forward.

"Not hanging back this time, are we?" Heiden responded as he surged the Houndsoldier after him.

"It's a different mode Heiden! The dynamic is absolute. If you lack the initiative, no projectiles, no melee attacks, no instigating direct contact. If the enemy catches you when the switch occurs, you better have a way out, or you're down for the count. Eura!"

"Sao?"

"Get up there! Find them! Our plans begin when we have a sense of where they are. This match will be all about the surroundings!"

"Roger that!" She moved the Evoflyer into its flight mode and soared out over the canyon.

"What about their flight unit?" Heiden asked. "I thought I saw a Storm Sworder with them. Will she be alright?"

"Pierce would have to be stupid to go up now, with no weapons. She'll hide out till the switch, then do just what Eura's doing to them. But if we can find them first, they might not get that far."

"Sao! I got them!"

"Where Eura?" Heiden asked.

"Do you see all of them?" Sao pressed.

"A valley, 5 kilometers northwest. I only see the Madthunder. There's a lot of outcropping rocks."

"See if you can find the others. Heiden, get in there. I'll run cover. Take the Madthunder down if you can, but make sure you have an escape route!"

"You got it!" Heiden pressed ahead of Sao, moving northwest into the narrower passages. He noted a number of slopes of varying grade carved into the cliff-walls as he passed. "Lotta ways to move up around here."

"Good thinking Heiden. Lots of escape routes, we don't want to engage here, but we can retreat back here if we must."

"I see him!" Heiden yelled, approaching a narrow gap in the walls, just wide enough for a Zoid to pass. Through the walls lay a wider stretch of gold sand and at the far end of the valley, the Madthunder.

Heiden ran the Hounsoldier through the gap with Sao chasing just a few hundred meters behind, when a rumble surged through the grounds. A rain of rock crashed into the gap and Sao made a hard break. He fired a few beam rounds at the rocks – it'd take him more than five minutes to break through them all.

"Ugh! Closing off the escape without directly hitting him. Genius." He turned around.

Heiden took little notice as he ran through the valley, kicking up plumes of gold dust in his wake.

"Just as you said Captain," Sanders spoke into the private intercom, "He's gone right past you and headed straight for me."

"Good, Sanders, now comes the hard part." Stoller responded from the Elephander, hidden in the shadows on the other side of the former-gap. Large depressions in the wall evidenced concentrated ramming by the Elephander's front legs. "You'll be in significant danger from his assault in the next few minutes, and if he escapes through the other end, or takes you out, our efforts will be for naught."

"Don't worry sir! I won't let you down!" Sanders turned the Madthunder away from the approaching Houndsoldier and ran for the gap at the other end of the valley, taking a path fraught with rocks jolting up through the sand.

The Houndsoldier plowed through the rocks as it gained speed. Heiden soon entered firing range and blasted his 3-barrel burst cannon. The Madthunder deployed its Particle Absorption Shield, which rippled with every burst. "Can't protect yourself forever!" The Houndsoldier flew up towards the slower Madthunder. "Cross lance!"

The Hounsoldier's lances slashed through the Madthunder's Particle Shields, and ripped into its two mounted Beam Cannons, sending it flying towards the canyon wall. Wasting no time, Sanders flipped the switch on the Madthunder's Magnesser Drill and lumbered toward the gap in the wall.

"No you don't!" Heiden ran for the Zoid. "Bite Fangs!" The Houndsoldier jumped at the Madthunder, gnawing into its head, and sending its shields flickering away into static. But the impact of the running-bite sent the Zoid right where it wanted to be – drilling into the canyon wall, and sending another set of rock crumbling down to block the exit.

"One more'll do it! I don't even need to get close!" Heiden moved his right hand to the launch buttons for his missiles. Click! The text TARGET AQURIRED appeared on the sscreen. "Chase Missile Pods!" Heiden yelled, slamming the trigger.

SYSTEMS LOCK – the screen said. "What?"

"5 Minutes elapsed!" The Judge declared. "The Neophander Team has initiative!"

The Madthunder worked its way back up and ambled around to face the Houndsoldier. Sanders grinned, grasped the triggers and let rain with his 2 and 4 barreled shotguns. Heiden dashed off, but took a hit to the rear leg. Sanders pursued but was quickly left behind.

"Hang back Sanders." Stoller commanded, "We're too slow to give pursuit. And pursuit isn't what we're after, besides. We need to trap the Houndsoldier in a corner, then my Elephander can finish him before the initiative switch. Pierce!"

"I'm on it," The woman replied, finally raising her Storm Sworder up.

"Eura! What's going on?" Sao called.

"I couldn't find the others. Where are you?"

"I'm trying to find the other way into the valley."

"I think they blocked it off."

"Dammit! I could really use some good news around here."

"Well, I just found the Storm Sworder!" Eura exclaimed, half-sarcastically, having sighted the pale-lavender Zoid soaring upwards.

"And now it begins…" Sao muttered. "Get down Eura! She's got the advantage in speed and combat! Hang in there any way you can!"

"Got it!" She dived into the cliffs.

"Too late darling, I caught a peek of you!" Pierce smiled. "Stoller! I found the Evoflyer. Gonna take it out and get back to you!"

"Make a thorough job of it." Stoller replied, as he fired the 45 mm machineguns on the Elephander trunk at the blur of the Houndsoldier. Heiden dug hard into the ground, making wide turns at every opportunity. Soon the center of the valley was caked in dust. "I expected no less of Ensiné's apprentices. Using the dust as cover. Sadly, it won't suffice." He turned the Elephander all the way to the left side of the valley. "Sanders, aim to your left and work towards the center of the valley."

"Roger sir!"

"Fire!" The two Zoids systematically blasted through the dust, moving from the periphery inward. Clash! Stoller hit metal. "Move in Sanders!" The Houndsoldier began running again, but the dust cover gave little aid, and the valley was too narrow to gain high speed.

High speed was reserved to the skies. Eura soared down into a narrow passage. Pierce pursued, Pulse Laser Guns blazing. The canyon walls were wide enough and curved enough that straight shots missed more often than not, but the occasional, rocking hit was more than enough to remind Eura that a strong blast would be her last.

"Well, if you're a dodgy sort," Pierce mused, "I'll stop the aiming and cut to the chase!" She launched her Sword Missiles – frightening bleeps on Eura's radar. Both Zoid and missiles alike closed in quick. Suddenly, the canyon narrowed. Eura flipped the Evoflyer vertically to make it through the gap. The missiles, clumped together, combusted, sending the canyon walls down around them. Eura could sense the rumbling as the stones fell – perhaps it was because the passage ahead had gotten narrower, barely a wing length in width. _At least now any missiles had a good chance of blowing up right in the Storm Sworder's face_, she thought.

A great crashing sounded behind. Pierce had extended the Storm Sworder's Wing Swords, straight into the cliff walls, and was gaining fast. She had increased her altitude and was moving in, following Eura's every motion like a cat stalking a tail or a pendulum, not letting her get ahead, or above. Truly, an unwinnable war – even if the initiative changed, Eura would be crushed under the rock when the Storm Sworder passed overhead. _Even if it had changed._

Suddenly, Eura's brain sparked. "You may have the higher speed, but with more speed, comes less control!" She dived down in a loop and headed straight back towards the Storm Sworder. Pierce grimaced, following her down out of instinct. She leveled out, following when suddenly- Crash!

She plowed into the falling rocks she had just sent falling. Peering ahead she could see the Evoflyer had not only flipped, but turned vertical again minimizing the area susceptible to the falling rock. Quickly, she banked upwards, digging her wing-mounted Strike Claws into the rock and sending still more rubble falling down on the Storm Sworder. "No! This can't be!" Pierce yelled, firing her pulse lasers. But the additional fire only crumbled the canyon walls down further and the Storm Sworder was sent falling to the rocky floor.

"Neophander Team Unit 3, out of the battle!"

"Eura, was that you?" Sao called out.

"Sure was!" She responded breathing heavily.

"How'd ya do it?"

"The canyon walls, Sao! If you can get their Zoid below the rocks, you don't have to attack it directly!"

"Superb Eura! I think I have just the way to finish this. Get back to the valley!"

"Got it." Eura replied as Sao doubled back around to the approach to the valley's former front entrance.

"Sao, what are you do- Arrgh!" Heiden yelled.

The Elephander and Madthunder had landed solid, simultaneous hits, sending the Houndsoldier cascading into the ground.

"Heiden, what side of the valley are you on?"

"What?" The Elephander moved in, as Heiden struggled to raise the Houndsoldier.

"Which wall are you closest to?"

"North!"

"Get closer!" SLAM! The claw arm of the Elephander Trunk latched into the neck of the Houndsoldier.

"Ugh… Will do!" Heiden yelled, pushing the throttle to full towards the wall.

"Hmph, what is this? I expected more from you!" Stoller exclaimed, blasting the Houndsoldier with close range gunfire.

"Raargh!" Heiden cried out, as he pushed the Houndsoldier toward the walls, slowly dragging the Elephander with him.

"You're done!" Stoller shouted, blasting the face of the Houndsoldier with his AZ Hyper Laser guns.

"Ughh!" Heiden felt his body thrown back as his screen froze.

"Nova Team, unit 2, out of the battle!" The Judge declared.

"Hmph. You couldn't escape." Stoller proclaimed on an open channel, "The Houndsoldier simply doesn't have enough mass. It's too light of a build to counter my Elephander."

"Who said he was escaping?" Sao yelled out.

"What? Where-"

"Captain! Above!"

There, atop the cliff side over the Elephander, the Trinity Liger stood high. It gave a mighty roar and slammed its claws into the rock overhanging the valley. A rain of rubble tumbled down onto the Elephander, rocking the valley.

"Well Heiden, we didn't end up engaging there, but those upward slopes did come in use." Sao proclaimed.

"Ugh… Good to know!" Heiden called back.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Ensiné!" Slowly, from beneath the rubble, the Elelphander and its pink energy shield, sparking, rose shaking from the rocks. "The heavy weight did put a strain on my shield, but it's still running. It'll take more than that to take me down."

"5 minutes elapsed! The Nova Team has initiative." The Judge proclaimed.

Stoller grinned, "Why aren't you aiming your cannons Ensiné? Aren't you gonna take a shot?"

"You said yourself Stoller. It'll take more weight to down your shield."

"You have no more rock, Ensiné!"

The Liger backed up. "Stoller, I expected more from you. Just because you took down Heiden's Houndsoldier, you seem to have forgotten about the differences in our Zoids! As one man put it, the Trinity Liger packs almost all of the speed of the Houndsoldier, into twice the build."

Stoller's eyes widened.

"And when that thing gets going-" Sao moved the Liger forward.

"It's like a rock out of a cannon!" Heiden called out.

The Liger made a great leap off of the cliff edge, straight into the Elephander. Stoller slammed on the energy shield and the Liger slammed right into it. A flurry of sparks cascaded outwards until in a blinding flash, the shield shattered into nothingness and the Elephander was thrust back.

The Liger too was thrown a ways, but rebounded, sides glowing with energy. "Photon Cutter!" It ripped into the torso of the Elephander, sending it toppling into the sand.

"Neophander Team, Unit 1, out of the battle!" said the Judge.

"Captain!"

"Sanders, drill through the rock! Get out and wait for the next switch!"

"Roger sir!" Sanders ran for the rocks blocking the far exit of the valley and bored his Magnesser drill into them.

Sao started after him, quickly realizing he wouldn't make it before the Madthunder escaped and blocked the path again. Could he shoot it? He wasn't in range yet. He'd just have to-

BAM! From above, AZ assault rifles blasted into the Madthunder's side. With no particle shield, it took the blasts front-on. "You're not going anywhere!" Eura exclaimed.

"Damn bird!" Sanders cried. "You can't finish me with those cannons!"

"That's what I'm for!" Sao replied, the Trinity Liger closing in.

"Shit!" Sanders tried for the rocks again. The Evoflyer's rifle fire repelled him.

"Photon Cutter!"

The Madthunder went down with a rumbling, low blast.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… the Nova Team!"

* * *

><p>"Hahahahahahahah!" Laughter pervaded the bar counter where the battle's participants sat. Cushioned black seats and gentle orange light on the polished tables made for as-different an environment as could be imagined from the afternoon's proceedings.<p>

"Mr. Sanders, your team performed at an amazing level this afternoon, how is it that you've remained so unknown?"

"Uh, well, although we've known each other for quite some time," Sanders replied, more reflecting on than actually sipping the beer he'd been provided, "We only formally incorporated a couple months ago. We haven't been seeking out many battles."

The two reporters who'd stuck around (their accomplices having mostly left to write up detailed articles on the battle) nodded appreciatively as they typed into their tablets. "And where did you all meet?"

"Ummm. Captain?" Sanders looked over to Stoller, across the counter besides Sao – the two were absorbed in conversation. "Yes, we aren't going to comment on that at this time."

"C'mon Sanders! Have a drink for crap's sake!" Heiden nudged him, holding up his own half-downed beer. "Duncha drink?"

"Not much, I have to say."

"Ohhh boy have I got just the drinking game for you. Hey! Reporters! Who's up for a round?" Heiden turned to the two, who strained their faces considering the notion.

"He didn't look like the drinking type." Pierce said to Eura, who was seated next to Heiden.

"I didn't know he was." Eura smiled.

Heiden gestured to the reporters in the background. "Now repeat – Sao says saberlions sometimes stay to strafe." The reporters repeated perfectly. "Great job! You got it perfectly! Take a shot!"

Eura giggled.

"You should hang on to him dear." Pierce leaned. "A man like that isn't gonna stay single for long."

"Oh? Are you planning to-"

"Hell no! Men are far too tiring for me." Pierce laughed gulping down her cocktail. Eura giggled, then turned right to Heiden.

"Heiden!"

"Eeeeura?"

"I wanna play!"

"That's the stuff!" He said, putting his arm around her.

Pierce laughed, downing the rest of her glass and eying it like an enemy Warrior.

"Take mine Pierce." Stoller said from her left, passing over a glass of whiskey.

"Ah, thanks Cap-"

"Oh, you're not getting away that easy!" Sao proclaimed from Stoller's left – the end of the counter. "Bartender, get this man another whiskey!" The two chuckled as Sao took a sip of his Rum and Cola.

"You didn't answer me, Ensiné."  
>"Mm?"<p>

"Your girl."

"Seein' her in a few days, if I don't get caught up with someone like you again." More chuckling, as the bartender set down a glass of amber whiskey.

"You have yet to tell me a single thing about her, looks personality…"

"Amazing girl, you can't have her."

"Hahaha! You are drunk if you think I'm in the market." Stoller took a sip. "Fine. Suit yourself, but would you at least do the courtesy of telling me her name?"

"She's the future Mrs. Ensiné. That's all you need to know."


	10. Chapter 10: StarCrossed

Chapter 10: Star-crossed

"Battlefield scanned! Area set-up! The Crusaders Team versus the Nova Team! Battle mode 0922! Ready? FIGHT!"

Sao shaded his eyes as he looked out toward the horizon. He glimpsed the Houndsoldier dashing into the fray at one end of the field, saw the Evoflyer running in from another, and could glance the dust of the opposing team's two Zoids. He sighed and continued walking.

The ridge didn't actually provide a good view of the battle. There were gaps in the cliffs where flashes of combat shown through, but for the most part, only rising dust revealed the place, much less the victors, of the skirmishes to follow. Over and over he told himself that the battle was irrelevant. Heiden and Eura would fare fine. And he couldn't think of a more discreet time than now to meet her.

He arrived at the summit of the granite mountain and made a makeshift bench out of a discarded coolant tank lying nearby. He leaned back to stretch his arms. In the valleys ahead, he noted a distinct lack of fire. The teams were still searching for each other. Sighing, he put his arms down again.

He felt a hand beside him.

A hand hewn by a tough, traveling life, but smooth, warm, and with nails carefully trimmed. Her hand.

"Snuck up on me again, Alysia. Good to see you." He said, not looking at the woman he knew sat next to him. A boom rang in the distance. "Looks like they found each other too." Sao chuckled.

Alysia wrapped her fingers around Sao's left hand. Sensing that commenting on the battle wouldn't hold her attention, he looked over to her.

The girl from the picture on his desk had grown. Her hair looked darker than it used to, but it was still long, still red, and now tied back and out of her face. A black shoulder-plate now complimented her white top, tucked into trimmed black shorts.

Sao looked away again. "How's uh…"

"Your family wants you back." She said plainly, almost timidly.

"Heh. What else is new?"

"The company board wants you back."

"Oh?" Sao hardly batted an eyebrow.

"Only took two straight years of profit loss to show them that Ensiné Corp needs an Ensiné in charge."

"I don't want to be in charge. That's why I sold them the company."

"You think I didn't know that? You think I didn't tell them? They're convinced you're just playing politics." She sighed.

"It's all they understand. No surprise."

The battlefield had quieted down since the first engagement. Lots of dust in the air though – the Zoids were scoping each other out.

"I want you back." She said quietly. A new blast shook the battlefield.

"…Why?" Sao responded.

"Just how much have you spent in these last few months alone?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sao could feel Alysia turning to face him.

"Money, Sao. If I hadn't found those Lidiers, you would've bought a set yourself, just for that one battle, wouldn't you?"

"I gave them back to you! What's the problem?"

"Sao!" She clasped his arm. Sao looked back out of reflex. She wasn't angry. She wasn't confused. Sao couldn't place her look any more than he could tear himself from it. And his eyes were locked on hers.

Alysia looked down before she spoke. "You know how long it's been since you left home?"

"I've lost track."

"I haven't. 3 years, Sao, and what do you have to show for it?"

"I'm close! I'm closer than ever!"

"And how long have you been saying that? Lost track? Doesn't surprise me, it's been more than 3 years."

A barrage of cannon fire sent a cliffside tumbling. The rumble slowly faded into silence. Sao breathed deeply.

"If…" he stammered, "If I sell them, I'll have it. If I sell every Zoid I have, I'll need ten more battles – that'll be enough."

"Every Zoid? Including the Trinity?"

"Yes. Including the-" A roar in the background. The Houndsoldier – it flashed in Sao's mind as it ran the paths behind. It was no longer his to sell.

"…Including the Trinity." Sao finished.

"I know that look." She said pointedly.

"15. 15 Battles away."

Alysia sighed. "You always were a bad liar."

"It's true!"

"I'm sure part of it is."

"It's all true! It's just…" He turned aside, "I can't sell the Houndsoldier."

"Oh?"

"I… I gave it away."

"Gave it! To who?"

"…A good friend. He needed it." Sao slumped down. "He needed it…"

"Sao…?"

"I'm sorry…" He muttered. He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry Al."

"You should be. The Houndsoldier would cost at least 10 battles – you're about 20 from your goal."

"Not that." He took a shaky breath. "Well, that too. It's-" He paused, "I know it's not what I said… It's not what we agreed, but… I just need a little more time! I'll have it built, and I'll stop traveling, and… I'll be with you. Just like I promised." Silent tears flowed from his eyes.

"Sao..." He felt her arms around him. "…I don't care about it anymore, you know? I really don't." Sao lifted his head. "I was stupid back then."

"No! No you weren't. It was," he stopped himself, "It _is_ perfectly reasonable to want me to stay with you…"

"No Sao. It isn't. I…" Now she paused, "I loved you Sao. I always did. But back then my view of love was stupid. It's taken me three years to realize it, but…obsessing over someone doesn't make you a couple. I was just another star-crossed lover back then." She paused. "You're so much more to me than that."

Sao slowly moved his hand to her face. She was crying too. She continued to speak in spite of herself, "When you proposed to me, I told you I wanted a man who would hold me at the center of his life. You wanted three years to build your stadium so you could devote yourself wholly to me. You sold off your father's company, your share of his land, everything that wasn't tied down in your house. And I was so… selfish… That I still didn't say yes to you. Not then."

She looked up at Sao. The couple's arms had worked into a light embrace, almost without their noticing. "I don't know how much more time I can give you, but when that time is up, I won't be leaving you. I'll be coming to you, because I won't be able to stay away from you any longer."

A massive rumble in the distance, and a buzz from the Judge Capsule. "Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!"

Alysia let out a breath. "I guess that's your cue to go."

"The Dragoon's Nest can wait if it needs to."

"Are you still calling it that?" She outright laughed, "There's no apostrophe! It's a 'Dragoon Nest.'"

"Dragoon's Nest is… the name! It's a proper noun!" Sao responded nervously. Alysia sighed happily as she wrapped her arms around him.

The couple stood. " I got you something you know." Alysia responded. "For the Trinity."

"Well, I'm not gonna waste money on it. You can sell it to another one of your customers."

"It's a present you idiot!" She nudged him.

"Well, just hold it for me then." He rustled her hair.

"Hey! Hands off! You don't have to comb this!"

The two slowly separated. They took a few paces back but couldn't turn away.

"Don't get too lonely over there ok?" Alysia said.

"Heh." Sao smiled, as the Houndsoldier let off a howl in the distance. "No worries there."

* * *

><p>"And that fake! Even I didn't see that coming!" Heiden exclaimed.<p>

" I got the idea from you!" Eura responded. "I thought that was the plan!"

The two finally reached the end of the hall and walked into the Dragoon's Nest cockpit. "What'd you think Sao?" Heiden called out.

"I knew you'd pull through." Sao responded from a reclining position on a sofa.

The console let out a set of beeps. Heiden walked up to look.

"Hey Sao, it's the Commission!"

"Put 'em through." Sao gestured, not getting up from his seat. The main screen lit up with the robotic Judge's face.

"Nova Team! Congratulations on your recent victory!"

"Thank you very much!" Heiden replied.

"A pleasure to have you judge!" Eura chimed in.

The Judge cleared his non-existent throat at this remark. "Furthermore, the Commission would like to extend their congratulations to Mr. Sao Ensiné for the anniversary of his birth."

"Sao, it's your birthday?" Heiden called out.

"Oh, you're the sort to hide your birthday are you?" Eura said snarkily. "I think this calls for some cake!"

"I second that idea!" Heiden replied.

Sao groaned and replied pointedly towards the screen. "I extend my thanks to the Commission for their congratulations. Is that all?"

"There is one more point of order."

"Well, go on." Sao rested his head on his arm.

"The Commission has received a request to battle the Nova Team in mode 0982, and-"

"I believe I have informed the Commission numerous times of my intention not to accept any requests in mode 0982. I maintain this intention today, decline the invitation, and ask that you not forward me requests in that dull excuse for a battle mode."

"The Commission is required to forward requests from any team in the S rank that agrees to the condition of negotiations with the requested team."

"Ah c'mon Sao!" Heiden called to him. "If they agree to negotiations, we can at least try to talk 'em into another mode."

"Can we do 2 on 2 again? That was fun!" Eura piped in.

"At least find out who it is!" Heiden finished, chuckling.

Sao sighed. "Fine, fine. If they agree to negotiations, we'll accept the call. Who wants a piece of the Nova Team?" Sao asked the Judge.

The Judge's response would change Sao's life forever.

"The Blitz Team!"


	11. Chapter 11: Kings

Chapter 11: Kings

"I'd never heard of 'em." Heiden proclaimed.

"Well hear or not, they were plenty popular back in the day." Eura responded. "People came from miles around just to catch a whiff."

Heiden shook his head. "Just how good could they possibly be?"

A light ding came from the oven. "Time to find out!" Eura said, opening the oven door.

"Curry cakes…" Heiden mused. " Just sound weird to me."

"We kept 'em on the specialty menu half a year." Eura replied happily as she put on a set of mittens. "And it just seemed appropriate for his birthday."

Heiden chuckled. "Can't argue with that." He leaned his arm on the dark kitchen counter," So, whacha think about the Blitz Team?"

"Hm? Oh, I don't know much about them. I wasn't as much into Zoids back when they were around."

"Well they won the Royal Cup two years ago, but I stopped following them once they reached the S rank. I hear their main warrior pilots a Liger Zero. They say it's decked out with all kinds of armors."

"Armors?"

"Yeah, a lot of Zoids have them, though they're pretty expensive. They aren't just defensive – you can add whole new layers to their combat capabilities."

"Speaking of layers," Eura placed the orange-red cake on a pre-prepared plate – a strange mix of sweetness and spices filled the air. "Let's get some frosting!" she smiled.

Sao crossed his arms and rested his head in the cockpit nearby. Where the Judge's face had appeared a mere hour previous, there was only a blank window and a few textual messages from the Commission, notes confirming that Sao's remarks had been relayed to the Blitz team, notes that a call was soon expected, and no word on when 'soon' would be.

Pieces of the kitchen exchange floated out to him. "Frosting? On curry cakes?"

"It's the most important part!"

Sao cranked his head just over his right shoulder towards the kitchen door. "Curry cakes…" he scratched his chin.

Beeping from the console. Sao whipped back towards it. A yellow call icon flashed on the screen with the text [CALL ID: ZCDX-03 "HOVER CARGO"]. Sao answered the call.

"Leena, it's not my faaaaaault!" a male voice yelled.

Before the screen sat a boy of about 16 or so, clad in what looked to be a new white vest with elaborate clips. He looked discomforted by the voice but also intent on ignoring it.

"You're mine Bit!" A scratchy female voice replied angrily. The boy winced. Behind him, a blond man in red jacket ran across a room from a woman perhaps only slightly younger, sporting rustled maroon hair and a pink outfit.

"Leena stop! Just let me exp-" A crashing sound from off-screen.

The boy spoke, hesitantly. "Uh, hello! Nova Team?"

"That's us!" Heiden replied, walking in behind Sao as he balanced three slices of steaming-fresh cake topped with white frosting. He set one down before Sao, handed the other to Eura behind him, and began eating the third himself. "The Blitz team, I presume?"

"Yes, well, something like that." The boy scratched his uncombed black hair. "I'm Jamie Hemeros, I'm kind of a… representative."

"Representative?" Sao asked, "Don't you have a team captain? I believe he went by the name of Steve To-"

"Jamie!" A new, older voice ran out from off-screen. "Are you calling them?"

"No Doc! Just talking to some old friends!"

Heiden and Eura eyed each other suspiciously. They looked to Sao. "I can't believe this." He turned round to them – frosting lined his face. "This is some seriously good cake."

"Cake?" The first male voice piped up. "Who has cake?"

"Not you!" The female voice responded, prompting cries of anguish from off-screen.

Jamie sighed. "Uh… sorry bout that. Things are a little… hectic around here."

"Mmot aa allm." Sao swallowed. "We understand you're interested in a battle?"

"Jamie!"

"Nothing Doc!" Jamie turned back to the screen. "Yes, we'd heard a lot about your team, and we were interested in testing our skills against yours."

Sao nodded. "An admirable motive. But the Nova Team does not accept challenges in mode 0982."

"Ahhh! Nova Team!" The older voice, a man of a worn, tan overcoat burst in from the side of the screen, pushing Jamie aside, "So sorry I wasn't able to greet you in person. I'm Steve Toros, though, most people just call me the 'Doc." The Doc beamed with pride at the last few words.  
>"Sao Ensiné. A pleasure. And these are my associates, Heiden Aeross and Eura Curae. I understand you're interested in a battle, Dr. Toros."<p>

"Yes well," the Doc leaned in towards the screen, "Tell me, is it true you have a Trinity Liger in your arsenal?"

"Doc!" Jamie called out accusingly, as the Doc's right arm kept the youth safely off-screen. "One just like this one? Hm?" He held up a Zoid Model – the standard red Trinity Liger.

"Welm," Sao said, gulping down another piece of cake, "Mine's blue." He smirked. " I suppose you want it?"

"No!"

"No!"

"No!"

Jamie, the girl, and the blond man chorused, each coming into view beside the Doc.

"Oh come on! Just look at it! That salesman wasn't kidding when he said the kit was a bargain, just think of the real thing! Isn't it a beauty? Rawwrr! Trinityyy Ligerrrr!" The Doc responded cheerfully as he waved the model in the air.

"Doc, you paid for the model too? We'd almost got the books balanced!

"Dad! We had finally managed to get some money set aside for my Gun Sniper, and it's gonna stay there!"

"Uh Doc, when was the last time you paid me?"

"I paid you with that last new armor for the Liger Zero! Don't you remember?"

"The one with gold spikes and no practical use?"

"No use! It's beautiful! Almost as precious as that Trinity Liger…."

"This is all very flattering," Sao murmured, finishing off his plate. "But I'm a warrior, not a salesman. And as I've told you before, I don't battle in mode 0982."

"Well personally," the blond man pushed his way forward, "I just couldn't get the image of your liger out of my mind! I think my pal'll wanna test you guys out too!"

"You must be the notorious Bit Cloud."

"The one and only!" Bit said, smiling.

"Stop saying it like you're proud!" The girl said, dragging Bit's head down by the ear, "If I could trade you for any other warrior on the planet, you know I would."

"You should tell that to Harry, I think he was calling about- ahhh!"

"Uh, the point is," Jamie reclaimed his spot in front of the screen, "We _really_ just want to have a battle."

"Does it need to be in that mode?"

"Well, to be frank," Toros closed his eyes, making for an uncharacteristically stern look, " Our team's had most of its experience in 0982, more so than most, since almost every S-ranked match is done in that mode. Besides, as a higher ranked team challenging down, convention is that we have the right to choose the mode! And battling a team of our rank would gain your Nova Team, significant publicity."

"What just happened to him?" Heiden whispered to Sao.

Sao shrugged, and gestured for more cake. "Publicity… Is not a major concern of mine." Eura chuckled. "I am merely in search of unique and interesting battle modes."

Toros sighed, "Well, if you're set on choosing the mode yourself," he switched into a low grumble, "And if you're not willing to part with your wondrous Trinity Li-" Four spontaneous knocks to his head followed.

"Give it a rest Doc." A fourth figure, of a sandy brown mullet shook his head as he recoiled his hand.

"Alright Brad! Lay off. Ahem. If you're just going to do that, our Team gains nothing from the exchange."

"What about the experience?" Heiden piped in.

"Well I'm alright with it." Bit replied.

"Seems like a lotta trouble to me. Memorizing new rules just for a one-time event." Brad said, walking away.

"Precisely." Toros continued, cradling his head. "We've gone out of our way to contact you, and unlike most of the other teams you've been facing, we don't have the time or money to spare to train for new modes."

"Dad, do you have to be so rude?"

"You're one to talk Leena!" Bit remarked, ducking the punch that followed.

"He's right thought." Sao stated, drawing the attention of the whole group. "Learning a new mode is a lot of trouble. I wouldn't want to appear as if I was using said mode as a crutch or handicap. But I think I do have a proposal that can bridge our differences, or at least make the battle worthwhile."

"Liger?" The Doc held up his model, which was swiftly struck to pieces by an adjacent Leena. "Ah! Leena, look what you've done! It's in twenty pieces now!"

"Twenty. Good idea." Sao nodded.

"Hm?"

"Let's increase the prize money twenty times."

"Twenty?" Both groups gasped.

"What is this? The backdraft?" Bit said sarcastically.

"Not at all. My rules are fair." He straightened himself up. "Look, you think fighting in my battle mode is a waste of time and money. That's how I feel about yours. Let's mitigate the waste of time, by putting in more money. Loser pays. True, you'll be rather out of sorts if I win, but if I lose, you'll not only find yourselves a fair deal richer, but you'll have the distinction of beating me in a mode you'd never experienced before, and have the experience of it under your belts."

"I dunno..." Jamie scratched his chin, "Losing'll set us back 20 times the normal amount! Doc, what do you,"

"20 times the normal amount!" The Doc's eyes sparkled, "We could buy a new armor for the Liger Zero with that!" The rustling of plastic evidenced that someone had thrown the remnants of the Trinity Liger model onto the floor. "Ahh! My Trinityy! Your pieces are everywhere! Don't worry, Daddy Toros has got yooou!" He crouched off screen, revealing that Brad, Bit, and Leena, who held the cockpit of the Trinity model in her off-hand, had huddled in the background. Their discussion was barely audible.

"We gotta keep the money out of Dad's hands right?" Leena stated. Nods from Bit and Brad. "And we could use the extra, couldn't we?" More nods. "Alright, as soon as we win, we take the money out, and split it four ways, me, you two, and Jamie."

"Hey, you what are you guys talking about?" Jamie called from the foreground.

"…3 ways, me and you two." Nods. They turned to the screen.

"Well, Sao?" Bit asked, "What mode ya thinkin'?"

Sao put down his newest piece of cake, and the rooms turned to him.

"0901 – Kings."

Eura walked up beside Heiden.

"Kings?" she whispered.

"It's a… a three on three I think. I don't remember the specifics, it's an old one." Heiden replied, softly.

"So as to make it easier on everyone, I'll explain the basics here and now." Sao proclaimed. The Blitz Team crowded the screen. "Kings is a 3 on 3 battle."

"Seems pretty simple!" Bit replied.

"Shhh!" The rest of his team chorused.

"Each team chooses two 'servants' and a 'king'. One servant will only have access to melee weapons, the other – only ranged. Furthermore, one team's two servant units can never come closer than 5 kilometers of each other."

"How's that work? What happens if they get closer?" Jamie asked.

"If they come within that distance, your weapon systems will lock. They'll reactivate once you get at least 10 kilometers away from each other."

"Interesting, a set-up for one-on-one battles." Toros mused.

"Partially. The King unit can be close to any other units, and use all of its weapons. However, there's a catch. Each King starts in a 3 kilometer safe-zone near its side of the battlefield. It can fight all it wants within that zone, but when it exits, it only has 3 minutes before its weapons lock."

"What? Then the king can only fight for three minutes?" Leena questioned.

"To reactivate its weapons, the king must return to its safe-zone, and wait another 3 minutes."

"That sucks! No frontal assaulting there…" She moaned.

"That all?" Brad asked.

"Just note that this isn't a total elimination match. The first team to down the other's king, wins."

"I like the sound of it!" Bit grinned.

"That makes 2 of us." Sao replied.

"Three!" Heiden chimed in.

"Four!" Eura leaned in beside Sao.

"Yeah, this is sounding pretty interesting." Brad grinned.

"Why'd we even wanna say no?" Leena asked. The Blitz Team glared at their leader. Toros chuckled.

"Well, what time's good for you?"

* * *

><p>Two days later, the Dragoon's Nest arrived at a valley whose floor laid host to great hills of sand. At the other end, the Blitz Team's blue Hover Cargo approached, as if the two carriers themselves were to do battle. Each could see but the tip of the other, as the dunes obscured the far side of the valley, but this did not diminish the power that each team's transport pulled to the battlefield.<p>

"Hey, Josef." Heiden asked the robot, who turned his head from his duties driving the Dragoon's Nest. "Is it just me, or has this ground been tread recently?" Heiden pointed to the sands below, which under close examination showed an array of imprints - clawmarks, treadmarks, the jet streams of hover systems, and many more dotted the landscape. As the Dragoon's Nest overcame the nearest hill, a dull roar started to pervade the air. Heiden looked up confused. Slowly his confusion faded into disbelief as the Dragoon's Nest cleared the hill.

A cacophony, a convention, a veritable rainbow of Zoids had made camp precisely in the center of the battlefield between the two teams. Barigators, Battle Rovers, Dibisons, Dark Horns, and even a platoon of Glidolers, joined the assembly of increasingly familiar press.

"Just you." Josef responded at length.

"Heiden! Eura! Better get down here. Crowd control." Sao's voice yelled out.

"You in the Zoid bay already Sao?" Heiden mused into the intercom."

"In the Zoid fray actually." From the corner of his eyes, Heiden sighted the Trinity Liger just below the cockpit and prancing out toward the crowd.

"Right behind you Sao!" Eura's voice.

"Wha?" Heiden eyed the monitors – Eura's Evoflyer was opening the cargo bay. "Dammit! Why are they all leaving me behind!" He yelled, snagging his jacket off a nearby chair and running down the hall.

"Some watch tracks. Some make them." Josef mused.

"Shut up!" Heiden replied.

* * *

><p>"Sao, is it true that the S-ranked Blitz team took interest in your team solely because of a model of your Trinity Liger? Did your interest in the Trinity Liger begin in the same way?"<p>

Sao's face – eyes closed, eyebrows pulsing – betrayed an annoyance that had long been building up without release.

"Mr. Ensiné! Did you choose to sit out the Nova team's most recent match in recognition of the romantic relationship between your team members?"

He'd been completely surrounded at this point, and slowed the Trinity to a stop. The Evoflyer had inched in beside him.

"Ms. Curae, do your relations with Mr. Aeross represent your first long term relationship? Are you officially engaged? Are you breaking up?"

The Houndsoldier brushed aside an off-kilter Bigasauru and took a place behind its teammates. "What'd I miss?" Heiden asked.

"Mr. Aeross!" The voice questioning Eura continued, "Good of you to join us! Are you engaged with Ms. Curae?"

"Um, no?"

"Oh, no is it?" Eura spat back jokingly.

"Hey! I- We- We need to talk about this!" Heiden said, the humor in her remarks escaping him. She laughed.

Sao kept his eyes closed, one final effort to ignore the sense that had increasingly been pervading him, the surges of anger bordering on pure indignation, seeking to escape him. One familiar voice pushed him over the edge.

"SAO ENSINÉ HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ENGAGED?"

"YOU!" Sao boomed back.

From inside a pink Diloforce, the reporter asked back, "…Me?"

"Why is your Diloforce pink?"

"Excuse me?"

Sao pushed the Trinity Liger forward. "You have all been asking me questions for the past few months. You've crowded my every step, followed my every move and you in particular, seem to have appeared everywhere I go. I'll admit, it was, at first, an interesting experience, but now and all the time, it's just more questions. And not just questions – questions I'm fine with. Questions, I like! Your questions are STUPID!"

The reporters fell silent, and a few inched away from the Trinity Liger. "Relationships, music, food, who cares? I'm not interested in those things! I don't care to answer questions about them once, much less repeatedly! So now I'm gonna ask a question – what is with that pink Diloforce? Seriously, it has a charged particle cannon – pink would not be my first choice for it. Enlighten us as to the series of events that ended with that Zoid in that feminine pastel hue."

Eura stifled a laugh. Heiden smiled. The group assembled turned to the Pink Diloforce, the owner of which seemed at a loss for words. Then she grinned.

"Well, since you asked, there is something of a story behind that. I used to pilot a purple Gorhecks that my boyfriend picked out for me. We battled together, and had our own Team with some robots of his, and he was smoking hot…" She swooned and sighed. The reporters looked at each other, and few typed some notes, timidly, "But then the bastard found another girl and left me with barely a word! 'My love for you wasn't serious' he jokes! And he ran away to start another team with her! I felt more rage than I'd ever felt before and all I wanted was to smash him up! So, together with some friends," she grinned, "I went out and found a Diloforce, patched up its cannons, and painted it pink, and when I found him, I incinerated his Zoid until there was nothing left but molten metal and a cockpit! And then I said, 'All love is serious.' It was great." The sand fields had never known such silence as they did now. "Aaaand, after that, I hadta pay for the Diloforce, so I got a job with Heart Warrior Magazine, and here I am!"

"Wow girl! I like your spirit! If that asshole ever bugs you again, my Leena Special's got your back all the way!" Leena's voice carried from the Hover Cargo, which had now stopped a few kilometers away.

"Yes, just beautiful, can we get this started?" Bit asked, seemingly from beside her.

"Shut up Bit! You don't know the first thing about a lady's travails in love."

"Neither do you. Ahhhhgh! Stop! I have a battle soon! A battle!"

A few of the reporters broke away to swarm the hover cargo, and a few others went closer to the pink Diloforce.

"Well, Mr. Ensiné? What questions should we be asking?" A lone voice asked from the crowd.

" I would be satisfied to see you ask about the mode we're fighting in today. Not one of you've ever asked about those before a battle, and I think your readers could take a real interest in them."

"But you're about to start fighting, Mr. Ensiné! We wouldn't want you to get cut off in the middle of your explanation."

"Ask someone else then!" Heiden cut in, "Sao doesn't need to be the one to explain it to you. The rules and history are unambiguous facts."

"Well said." Sao backed him up.

"Who should we ask then?"

A roaring shriek turned into a hard impact as the Judge Capsule struck the ground. "The area within a 40 kilometer radius is a designated Zoid battlefield." The Judge proclaimed as his capsule rose above the ground and opened up. "All non-authorized personnel must…" He caught sight of the assembly. "Oh boy."

The Zoids ran towards the Judge. "Hey! Stay back! Damaging a Judge Capsule is a violation of the Zoids Battle Commission general regulations! You must vacate the premises!"

"Judge! Judge! Can you tell us about the battle mode?"

"No you can't sta- Pardon?"

"We'd like to know about today's battle mode! Can you tell us anything special about it?" The man who Sao had talked to asked.

Another woman piped in, "Do you like judging this battle mode more than the standard mode?"

"What does the Commission think of this mode?"

The Judge seemed quite flustered, but not angered per se. "Well, I, er, My databanks do indicate that mode 0901 has not been called for in the preceding 6 years. It is my understanding that the Zoids Battle Commission will soon retire the mode due to disuse."

"WHAT?" Sao yelled, turning the Trinity Liger forth on the Judge Capsule. "They're eliminating the mode? For disuse?"

The Judge responded matter-of-factly, "The retiring of battle modes is a regular function of the Zoid Battle Commission. The elimination of extraneous battle modes allows to Zoid Battle Commission to conserve computational and physical resources."

"I wasn't aware the Commission was particularly limited in resources digital or physical! Do the benefits of one free computer really outweigh the benefits of the variety, the challenge, the thrill of an entire different battle mode?" Sao roared.

"T-this issue is not subject to discussion! Unauthorized personnel must vacate the premises!"

"I am authorized! I'm fighting today!"

"Oh… Well return to your designated position, Warrior. All other…"

"Before I do, I'd like to make a statement. To the Commission, these reporters, anyone who might be watching!" The Zoids still cluttering the field turned to the source of these impassioned words. "Today I will fight in a battle mode like no other. 5 others will fight with me and everyone here will experience something that no other mode can even parallel. It has always been a dream of mine to share these modes with the world, and if the Commission is truly on a course to eliminate them from its repertoire, then the time is right for me to stand. I will make my own Zoid battle league, in a stadium I will wholly own, to abide by rules not sanctioned by the Commission if necessary!"

"Sao…" Eura muttered.

"Well, we're in for it now." Heiden sighed.

The Judge stood silent, processing the speech just delivered to him. "Your statement has been recorded, and will be presented to the Zoids Battle Commission Department of Grievances at a later time. Please move to your designated battle location."

"Thank you."

The Judge turned to the rest of the Zoids, and gave the standard warning. "The area within a 40 kilometer radius is a designated Zoid battlefield. All non-authorized personnel must vacate the premises immediately. Danger."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later and the field was clear (its outer rim was a different story, now housing a line of spectators who had come as close as the Judge would allow.<p>

On one side of the field, Heiden in his Houndsoldier, and Eura in her Evoflyer, 10 kilometers apart, Behind them, Sao in the Trinity Liger, glowing gold in the sunlight. Before them, Jamie in his green Raynos and Brad in the black Shadow Fox made up the frontlines. And behind them, Bit Cloud, and his Liger Zero, its white armor glinting back to match its opponent King.

"Area scanned. Battlefield set-up. The Blitz Team versus the Nova Team. Battle mode 0-9-0-1. Readyyy? FIGHT!"

"Alright you two," Sao began, "Our largest roadblock is the Raynos. They'd be fools not to give it the ranged-weapons privilege, and that would let him come right over here and start pummeling me. Eura, you're the main line of defense. He's faster, but you're more agile."

"I've handled that before." Eura giggled.

"Good. In any case, I guarantee they won't see what we've planned coming, so long as you find the right moment to attack. Get up there!"

"Roger!" The Evoflyer flipped into flight mode and took off.

"Make sure to keep to the east side of the field! Heiden, keep to the west, keep on your feet. If something happens to Eura, you may have to rush by and take over the offensive against the Raynos, but the Shadow Fox can't be ignored."

"Leave it to me Sao. I can cross this field in the blink of an eye."

Sao nodded. He looked to the Liger Zero in the distance. "You may not be the only one." He muttered.

"Doc, why aren't we going out in the Schneider or the Jager or something?"

"Don't be impatient Bit." The Doc responded, "Sao Ensiné revels in his battle modes. If we run in and hope for the best, he's more than likely to make us pay for it."

"What does that mean Doc? We want some action here!" The Liger Zero roared.

"What he means, BIT, is that if you run in there, stay three minutes, and your Liger's weapon systems lock, Sao's gonna slaughter you!" Leena yelled.

"Blunt, but well put, Leena. We need to scope out the Nova Team and see how they fight before we make a move. Stay back Bit."

"We're goin in Doc!"

"What? Bit! Stop!"

The Liger Zero leapt forward into battle. "Brad! I'm comin' to back you up! Leave some for me and my partner to finish!"

"Blitz King in play. 3 minutes till systems lock." The Judge announced.

"I thought the Doc told ya to stay back!" Brad yelled. "Dammit, and _he's_ comin' in fast." Brad eyed the oncoming Houndsoldier. "Guess I'll push him back with the laser Vulcan." He clicked the trigger – a message appeared on his computer screen: "PROJECTILE ARMS LOCKED". "Oh yeah. Jamie's got the projectile weapons. Crap!"

"Brad! Don't worry!" The Doc commanded, "Odds are the Nova Team's given their projectile weapon privilege to their Evoflyer, just like we gave ours to Jamie. Don't worry about enemy fire, just keep him from getting at the Liger Zero!"

"That's right… He doesn't have any guns either! Heheh. Alright then, let's see you get past this!" Brad braced the Shadow Fox into the ground.

"Jamie! Er-" The Doc caught himself, "How're things with the Evoflyer, Wild Eagle?"

"Goin' good Doc!" Jamie answered in a gruff voice, "I'm on her tail now!" Adapted to his flying persona, Jamie maneuvered the Raynos after the Evoflyer, fired off its 3-barrel beam cannon. Eura dodged, but just barely, and made no headway in shaking her pursuer. "Those assault rifles o' hers won't be firin' anytime soon!"

"Eura? You holding up?" Sao asked.

"He's got more control than that Storm Sworder did. Should I try and do it now?"

"No, hold off a little longer, if you can." He turned the Trinity Liger to face Heiden and the Houndsoldier as it started circling the Shadow Fox. "Heiden?"

"I did just as ya said Sao. Haven't started yet."

"How's the Liger?"

"It's-" Boom! Blasts from the Liger Zero's shock cannon shock the ground.

"How ya like that?" Bit yelled over an open channel.

"He's… getting close." Heiden replied to Sao.

"Alright. On your mark then- do it!"

"Gotcha."

"What's wrong Houndy? Starting to miss those big guns o' yours aren't ya?" Bit yelled. The Houndsoldier fired back a round from its Hound Buster Cannon.

"No, my guns are still right here, and I do like using 'em!" Heiden yelled back.

"What?" Brad gasped.

"Hey! That's against the rules! So these are the true colors of the great Nova Team?" Leena yelled.

"No, Leena, I think they're completely within the rules." The Doc responded.

"Huh?"

"Think – did that Evoflyer actually fire a shot thus far?"

"Well, no! Jamie's been tailing it!"

"And did the Houndsoldier ever get in close enough to attack Brad at close range?"

"No, he'd been circling around… No way!" Leena screeched.

"Eura!" Sao called, "Now!"

Eura pulled back on the Evoflyer controls, stalling the Zoid, flipping it round in the air and facing right toward the Raynos. "Strike Claw!" Eura yelled, as the Evoflyer's claws glowed.

"Whoa!" Jamie jerked the Raynos to the side, barely avoiding the attack.

"Jamie! The Nova Team gave the projectile weapon privilege to the Houndsoldier and the melee privilege to the Evoflyer!" The Doc called in.

"I noticed!"

"Can you handle it?"

"No problems! If I keep at enough of a distance, I should be able to take her out at range."

"Alright. Bit? How're you?"

"No worries Doc! He may have some guns, but he's still outnumbered, two to one!" Bit yelled. The Liger Zero aligned with the Shadow Fox and shot towards the Houndsolider. Its steady barrage landed the occasional hit. "See Doc? You were all upset over nothin'!"

A beeping rang out from the Judge Capsule and the Judge made a proclamation: "Three minutes elapsed. Blitz King systems locked."

"What?"

"Heheh!" Heiden called. "Oh, is the wittle wiger missing his wittle gun? I'm not!" He fired back, closing in on the Liger Zero.

"Bit! Get back to the safe zone! Brad! Cover him!" The Doc called out.

"It's alright Doc, I got it!" Bit replied, narrowly dodging a hit as he ran out of the battle zone.

"Don't worry Bit!" Jamie called out. "I'll cover you!" He flew the Raynos in closer, and slammed the trigger for his Barrel Beam Cannon. An error message appeared: ALLY PROXIMITY BREACHED – SYSTEMS LOCK "What?"

"Dammit Jamie! You've gotten too close to Brad!" The Doc called out.

"Sorry Doc! I'll turn her around!" Just as he'd said, Jamie wheeled around the Raynos in a hard bank, when- Slam! He'd moved straight into the oncoming Evoflyer, and its strike claws. "Aaah!" Jamie yelled.

"Sao! I got him!" Eura swooned!

"Great job! Heiden! Keep the Shadow Fox at bay and stay away from Eura! I'm going in!"

"Gotcha!" Heiden nodded.

The Trinity Liger dashed forth.

"Nova King in play. Three minutes till systems lock."

"Wild Eagle! They're moving in! Get out of there!" The Doc yelled.

"No can do Doc!" Wild-Eagle Jamie replied, "The wings are slashed, I'm going down!"

"Hang in there Jamie! I'll get outta the area." Brad called out. "Argh!" A blast hit the Shadow Fox.

Heiden smiled at the result of his shot. "I used to be a sniper, you know."

"Yeah, well snipe this!" Brad replied. FOOOSH! Black smoke erupted from the Shadow Fox. Heiden leapt back. At the corner of his eye, he caught the Shadow Fox making a break for it, backwards, but it was inevitable - the Raynos would regain its weapons. Hopefully it would happen too late to matter.

After a hard run, the Liger Zero arrived back in the safe-zone. The Judge confirmed this: "Blitz King has exited play. Three minutes until play can resume."

"You alright Bit?" The Doc asked.

"I'm good Doc…" Bit answered, panting. "Say… you think you could move the Hover Cargo into the safe zone?"

"Move it in? Sure thing, but why?"

"Then I won't have to waste time when my partner an I get suited up."

"Ah. Brilliant idea, Bit!"

"I think this battle's overdue for a change after all. And I know just the one…"

Wham! The Raynos slammed into the sands. Jamie quickly pushed the Zoid's head up and out of the sands, revealing straight ahead – the approaching Trinity Liger. He started up the Raynos jets, but not before the Liger's Twin Beam Cannons were hitting him hard and fast. Smoking and sparking, he pressed on upwards, lifting off the ground. The text "SYSTEMS ONLINE" flashed on his screen.

30 meters airborne, he flipped around for a close range shot at the liger, when the Evoflyer struck down from above with its Bite Fang, pressing its opponent Zoid back down and straight into the Liger's "Photon Cutter!" Sao ripped through the Raynos wings, leaving a smoldering wreck behind him.

"Blitz Team, unit 3, out of the battle." The Judge announced.

Eura turned to Sao. "Nice work!"

"It was all you. My time will be up before I can get to Heiden – I'm heading back."

"Should I go after the Liger?"

"May as well. Be careful!" Sao said, dashing back towards the safe-zone.

Eura pressed forward toward the enemy safe-zone. Far down to the left, she could see, the Houndsoldier scuffling with the Shadow Fox. It seemed to be a straight out draw. She looked down toward the safe-zone itself.

"Nova King has exited play. Three minutes until play can resume." The Judge affirmed Sao's reentry into his safe-zone far behind Eura. She decided to report to Sao.

"Sao, it looks like they moved their Hover Cargo into their safe-zone. Think they're gonna use it as cover?"

"Possible, but only if they're desperate. If the transport Zoid enters into the battlefield proper, it's officially subject to battle-fire. They probably have something else in mind. Where's the liger?"

Eura squinted. "I… I don't see it."

"Don't see it?"

"Three minutes elapsed. Blitz Team King is eligible for play."

"Well, that confirms he can't have exited the safe-zone…" Sao mused.

"Wait! The Hover Cargo, it's opening!"

"Hm?"

Out the side of the hover cargo, the dark green armor of the Liger Zero Panzer emerged.

"It's the liger! I think… It's all green now. What'd they do to it?"

"I don't like it Eura, get back!" Sao called.

The Panzer let opened its rear pod silo and let loose a respectable, soaring barrage of missiles, straight at the Evoflyer.

"Whoa!" Eura wheeled the Evoflyer around, a white trail of missiles trailing her.

"I can't reach her from back here Doc! Move us closer!"

"Sorry Bit, the Hover Cargo's already vulnerable to enemy fire under the Commission rules, I can't bring us straight into the battlefield! Do you remember what happened the last time the backdraft attacked the hover cargo? Do you remember those repair fees-"

"Alrigh, alright! C'mon Partner, let's do some damage!" The Liger gave a long, low roar of assent, and made a few bulky, slow steps off the Hover Cargo and forward.

"Eura? What's happening?" Sao called.

"It's a missile unit! It almost got me with just a fraction of its load. I can't imagine what its full blast is like!"

"Get back here! Get back and down!"

"Don't worry, I'm out of his range. And he looks slower than a Cannontortoise now!"

"Blitz King in play!" The Judge announced as the Panzer slogged over the invisible line marking the safe-zone.

"Alright partner, this should be close enough! Let's fry that bird!" His screen lit up with target reticules and flashed the text "BURNING BIG BANG." Like a thunderous torrent fired straight into the sky, a white stream of missiles blasted into the sky towards the Evoflyer.

"Eura!" Heiden called.

"Get out! Get down!" Sao commanded.

"Aaaah!" The blasts filled the sky, their white light searing into the eyes of the spectators. With a muffled thud, the charred Evoflyer fell to the ground. The blast-light had made it impossible to see how far it had fallen.

"Eura?" Sao said under his breath.

"…I got down…" Eura replied. Sao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nova Team, unit 3, out of the battle!" The Judge proclaimed.

"Heiden, we underestimated them."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think that myself." Heiden grumbled, firing off a few more shots at the Shadow Fox, which dodged his firing gracefully as it had been doing the past few minutes.

"You needta start a run-and-gun. I don't care if you only land one hit per pass, we can't keep up this attrition game!"

"Right… C'mon baby, let's make em run for this win!" Heiden pushed the Houndsoldier away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Brad called, pushing the Shadow Fox after its pursuer. "Bit? Think you could put out another blast on the Hound?"

"Uh… Little difficult Brad. Youch!" Bit pulled his hand away from the steaming dashboard. The display was cluttered with OVERHEAT warnings. "Just like ya said Doc, it's been heating up faster these days."

"Not a problem Bit. We're on even footing again. Get back over here!"

"Got it." With a mechanic CA-CHUNK, the Liger ejected its army-green armor, and shook its steaming body off. "Wooo! Think we need somethin' a little lighter eh Partner?" Affirmative growls. The Zoid moved back into its safe-zone.

"Why don't ya stand your ground and fight?" Brad called to his opponent.

"I'm right here man! Come and catch me!" Heiden pressed the Houndsoldier forward.

"Dammit. Doc, I just can't keep up with him!"

"Just hold on Brad, we're switching to the Jager now!" Doc responded.

"Tell him to hurry! Argh!"

"Nova King in play!"

The Trinity Liger moved in on the Shadow Fox, showering it with Beam Cannon fire. The Shadow Fox started moving in, but soon found itself cut off but the incoming Houndsoldier and its Hound Buster Cannon. Again, it dodged all but one of the hits.

"Sao," Heiden quipped, "This good enough?"

"They're probably gonna move in another armor soon. If it's anything as heavy as the last one though, we should have a minute after he's out before we're in range. Just keep up the pressure!"

"Three minutes elapsed! Blitz King eligible for play!"

"Goooo Jager!" Bit yelled, as the blue ion boosters of the Liger Zero Jager soared out from the Hover Cargo's catapult deck.

"A magnetic catapult?" Sao realized.

The Jager landed and quickly burst into a run towards the action, approaching fast.

"Shit. Heiden, we split! We can't risk whatever this new armor's packing! His speed's completely changed!"

"Right!" The two Zoids made a run for it.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" Bit yelled, going after them.

"Bit, take the Houndsoldier! I'll catch the liger."

"Right!" The Jager moved for the Houndsoldier. "Pretty fast Zoid you got there!"

"I used to pilot a Cannon Spider, if you can believe that!" Heiden called back. The two Zoids races forward, neck and neck. "Dammit, Sao, I can't shake him! He's right at my speed!"

"Going from a powerhouse than can barely move to a jet-powered racing unit. Some opponents we got picked by. Look, just-"

"3 Minutes elapsed. Nova King, systems locked."

"Shit. We're going on the defensive! Get over here to the safe-zone! We'll finish the battle there."

" I'll see what I can- argh!" The Jager slammed into the Houndsoldier, sending both Zoids cascading through the sand. Slowly, each got to their feat.

"…Ya ready for more?" Bit taunted, as he caught his breath.

"Sure… But I hear you only got a few minutes left."

"Well I got all the time you need!" Brad shot in from the side, ripping into the Houndsoldier with his Electron Bite Fangs. Heiden growled, firing the Houndsoldier's 4 chase missile pods straight into the Shadow Fox, blasting it away, and pushing the Houndsoldier back with recoil.

"Strike Laser Claw!" The Jager tore into the stunned Houndsoldier,

"Nova Team, unit 2, out of the battle!" The Judge proclaimed. "Three minutes elapsed. Blitz King systems lock."

"Brad, start whittling him down! I'll switch into the Schneider!"

"Ugh! I'll see what I can do…" Brad replied, moving the smoking but functional Shadow Fox forward as the Jager jetted back behind him.

"3 Minutes elapsed! Nova King eligible for play."

The Shadow Fox stopped just outside the Nova safe-zone.

"Aren't you gonna come out and play?" Brad quipped smugly.

"Fine where I am thanks. How bout you?" Sao fired off his twin beam cannons. Knowing his only chance to do damage was in close combat, Brad moved in, taking more blows than he would've liked. He swiped with his own strike laser claws, largely missing the liger.

"What's wrong foxy? Can't be this conservative this late in the game. Not when you don't have your guns to back you up."

Brad chuckled. "You know, that is some damn good advice!" He surged the Shadow Fox forward, baring his electron bite fangs, and ripping into the Liger's front leg. The Liger struck back with its hardened alloy claws, dealing a hard blow right to the opposite leg of the Shadow Fox – sending it flying clean off.

"Blitz Team, unit 2, out of the battle."

Sao breathed deeply, tested out the bad leg. He could move, but not well. Would Bit go out with the previous armor? He looked forward. In the distance, he saw the tell-tale flying shine of the Liger Zero soaring off the catapult. It landed and started towards him, slower than the previous, but plenty fast. It shone orange in the light, with large turquoise laser blades.

It was clear he wouldn't be dodging the next attack. And yet, perhaps, just as Brad had, he could deal a counter-blow. If his armor was strong enough and his photon cutter quick enough… He started forward, pushing over the fallen Shadow Fox. The Liger moved straight ahead and closer. He wasn't going to back off, wasn't going to drag things out. Sao moved forward. Pressed forward. Pushed until the two Ligers were racing towards their counterparts.

The Schneider's five mane blades aligned outwards. The Trinity Liger's photon cutter charged with golden light. The two Warriors ran forth, not a care but that which lay ahead of them.

"Photon Cutter!"

"Buster Slash!"

A great cloud of dust and sparks arose, blanketed the spectacle. The onlookers squinted to see the outcome, but the sandy cloud settled slowly. A shadow could be seen, but which it was impossible to tell.

Only one thing was certain: two ligers had entered, and only one now stood victorious.


	12. Chapter 12: Standard Engagement

Chapter 12: Standard Engagement

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is…" Slowly, the dust cleared. The Zoids at the edge of the battlefield leaned inward like a single entity. At the center of their vision – the last liger standing. The king of…

"The Blitz Team!"

"Ugh!" Bit groaned as he pulled the Liger back, panting. "Whew! That was a close one."

"Yeaahah! Bit! Ya did it!" The Doc cheered, "That money's all mine!"

"All ours, Dad!" Leena yelled. "It's all ours!" The two shouted.

Sao breathed deeply from within the Trinity cockpit. "COMMAND SYSTEM FREEZE" stood centered on his computer screen. "_I don't know how much more time I can give you…_" The words rang in his head. "What a time to lose…" He muttered as he ran his hands through his hair. "_You know how long it's been..._?" "I know I've taken awhile…" He muttered. "But it's still too soon… Too soon."

* * *

><p>"Let's challenge them!" Heiden cried.<p>

From his spot, slumped on the sofa, Sao delivered a near-monotone response. "They're an S ranked team, Heiden. They'd have to challenge _us_ for an official battle to take place."

"We have their contact channel! We can ask them to challenge us!"

"And what mode do you think they'd want to fight in?"

Heiden grit his teeth. Eura walked in with a few mugs, smelling of pungent coffee, which Josef made a point of taking from her, with a robotic, yet meaningful nod.

"…So let's do it! " Heiden replied. "Just this once! We're show them just how pointless a mode it is!"

"To what end Heiden?" Sao remarked, eyes closed. "Everyone knows what to expect from that mode. That's the problem. We won't be able to show them anything. In fact, they'd probably be more formidable than they were today. It's their specialty mode. And with that Liger and its armors, it's like we're fighting 5 Zoids at once."

Josef placed a mug gently on the glass table before the sofa, and treaded away to Heiden, to offer him a mug. Heiden took a whiff – decidedly black coffee – and gestured to refuse.

"But the money Sao! What about your dream? Your stadium! You just told the whole damn world about it! You can't just stop now!"

"Sao," Eura inched forward, "Don't pretend you don't care just because you lost. Pride doesn't suit you."

"I lost to _you_ Eura. The loss isn't the problem. And the pride isn't either." He reached over to the coffee mug, still not opening his eyes, "In fact, maybe it's a good time to drop the whole thing altogether. There are other ways to make money."

"What? Whaddya mean Sao?" Eura asked.

"Battling. Maybe I should start finding new ways to raise funds. I spend too much doing it this way…"

"Sao, aren't you the least bit pissed about this?" Heiden yelled.

Sao took the mug in hand. "No."

"You're a bad liar Sao." Eura called him out. His hand shook.

"…Heiden, you think you could put on some of that music you been listening to?"

"Huh? Some classical? Uh sure…"

"Thanks. I could use something calming." At length he sat up, as Heiden went over to the console and pressed play, as his music was still cued up. "Now look, you two." Sao said, as a soothing refrain of strings filled the room. "No one likes to lose. But they earned the win they got. It'd be counterproductive to dwell on taking them down."

"Counterproductive maybe, but it's still something we gotta do!" Heiden replied.

"You're getting worked up Heiden, moreso than me. Listen to the music, just calm down." Heiden sighed, as Sao continued. "Even if we did fight them, that battle would play out into a war of attrition whose outcome would be uncertain. It'd be as straightforward as this string chorus." He put the coffee to his lips.

BAAAAAA!

A surge of strings blasted out of the speakers.

Sao nearly choked, spilling the coffee on the sofa.

"Sao! Sao you alright?" Eura rushed to his side, and Heiden behind her.

"Pfft! What is this song?"

"Uh, I dunno! It was in the mix Naomi sent…" Heiden paced over to the console to look as Sao gave a few coughs and stood up, dizzily. "Uh… Symphony 94, 2nd Movement… 'Surprise'." Heiden read off the playlist. "Heheh… Surprise!"

"Ugh." Josef came up to Sao with a new cup of coffee. "Thanks." He took a swig. "Acck! Sweet!"

"Surprise." Josef replied, holding up a few packs of sugar in his other metal hand.

"What's with all of you?" Sao stepped back in awe.

"Hey, I didn't know that song was next!" Heiden laughed.

"I didn't surprise you at all yet!" Eura giggled, "Wait, lemme just get something from the fridge…"

"No!" Sao cried, breathing heavily. "That's ok!"

"Aw please! You'll never see it coming!" She winked.

"You just told me what you're going to do! If I know what you're going to do, I won't be…" His eyes lit.

"Sao?" Heiden called.

"Heiden, I have come across a brilliant idea."

"Oh, congratulations." He leaned his head towards Eura, who left for the hall.

"But," Sao continued, "If I'm wrong on this one, I think I'll have to stop battling for quite a while."

"Oh? Well, we'll stop with you. What's the plan?"

"We challenge the Blitz Team, just as you'd said."

"Alright! Now we're getting somewhere!" He patted Sao on the back. "Wait…"

"Hm? Having second thoughts?"

"No, it's just… I realized something. What if the Blitz Team doesn't accept our challenge? We can offer them more money, but if they don't want any…"

"Oh don't worry about that. I've figure out just the thing to get them to accept." Sao smiled.

Eura walked into the center of the room. In her hands, a bowl housing an amorphous mass of green, red and blue chunks, swimming in a pool of murky brown sauce. Three spoons stuck out of the bowl. "Have a bite?" Eura grinned.

"Heheheh." Sao sighed happily, took up a spoon and scooped up a sample. He looked at his teammates, shrugged and tasted the concoction.

"…What is this Eura?"

"A slight tinge of mint, a hint of blueberry sweetener, and premium mix curry." Sao grinned, and took another spoonful.

"What a pleasant surprise."

* * *

><p>"Daad?"<p>

"Mmyes, Leena? Hey!"

Brad and Bit wheeled the Doc's chair away from his Zoid kits to face the three of them.

"Dad, which account did you have the Nova Team send their money to?"

"Mm? Oh, my account of course!"

"What happened to the team account?" Brad asked.

"Oh, the bank cancelled that one a month ago after our last overdraft. So, I just started up a new one!"

"Oh."

"Oh."

"Oh." The three warriors exchanged concerned looks.

"So, Doc, seeing as it is basically the new team account…" Bit started.

"What's the access code, Dad-"

"Doc!" Jamie called from the other room, "The Nova Team's calling!"

"Ohoho!" Doc. Toros responded, jumping out of his seat, "So they wanna beg for their money back! We'll just see…" He strode smiling into the other room.

"Doc! Wait!"

"Dad, come back!"

"Doc, you still haven't paid me!"

The three chorused, following their leader into the main conference room.

Seeing the assembly approaching, Jamie answered the call.

"Uh, hello there!"

The Doc knocked Jamie aside, and stuck out his tongue, "Bleeeeh! Ya want your money back? That's just too bad!"

"Don't be sore losers! Mweeeeh!" Leena joined her father sticking her tongue out.

"Why are you doing that?" Bit asked, "You weren't even ther-Arrgh!" Leena responded with to the complaint with a back-kick straight to the gut."

"Well hello to you too, Blitz Team." Sao continued the conversation. "And thank you for the excellent battle yesterday."

"Our pleasure, and thank you for routing the money to our account so punctually!" The Doc smiled cheerfully.

"Yeah about that Dad…" Leena crawled up her father's shoulder and begin whispering.

Meanwhile, still clutching his stomach, Bit stood up. "Yeah! It was a great battle there, Sao. That last run really got my blood pumping, partner's too!"

"Good to hear Mr. Cloud."

"Bit, please!"

"Heh. Well in that case Bit, maybe you'll be on my side here. How do you feel about a rematch?"

"Yeah sure!"

"Bit! Please!"

"Bit! Please!"

"Bit! Please!"

Brad, Jamie and the Doc chorused. "Bit, you idiot!" Leena socked him upside the head. "What reason do we have to fight them now that we've done their battle mode and gotten their money?"

"Leena," Jamie interrupted, "Don't be so-"

"She's right, Jamie." Sao replied. "Put frankly, you have little motivation to fight me again, and being of inferior ranking, I have little ability to force you to fight me."

"Hm, so what's the deal Sao?" The Doc asked, "Gonna accuse us of taking the coward's way out? 'Cuz we don't care!"

"Doc!" Bit moaned.

"Actually, I was gonna take you up on your original offer." Sao paused for breath, "If you beat me this time, I'll give you my Trinity Liger."

"What?" Heiden gasped.

"Sao!" Eura peeped.

Sao muttered a response to them both, not taking his eyes off the screen, "I told ya. If I lose this one, I won't be battling for quite awhile." He raised his voice, "So, what's your answer? Of course, it would only be fair to let you pick the location, time and battle mode."

"I dunno Doc," Jamie leaned over, "This sounds suspicious… Doc?"

"That is a deal I'll tak-!" The Doc exclaimed.

"Doc!" Jamie pulled him aside, "What about the money?"

"The Liger Jamie! Just look at it! And it'll be mine! Mine! I won't even have to pay for it!"

Once again, behind the Doc's chair, Leena, Brad and Bit had gathered and huddled. Their discussion was barely audible: "Doc can hide the accounts but he can't hide a Zoid." Bit declared.

"If we sell the Trinity, we'll make enough to pay our way for months." Brad continued.

"And, before we do that, we can hold it hostage as a way to force Dad to give us the account numbers!" Leena smiled.

"Is this agreement I sense in the air?" Sao mused aloud.

"Alright Ensiné," The Doc cleared his throat, "You've convinced me." He crossed his arms.

"Of course, you'll return our money when we win." Heiden called over.

Uncertain moans from the Blitz Team. Then Bit's voice: "'Course we will! Even if you somehow _manage _a win, you'll need the money to repair your barely standing remains!"

"No Bit!" The Doc turned sternly to him. "You are not to scratch my new Liger."

"What? But how can I-?"

"Its armor needs to be pristine and clear so the red paint goes on smooth!"

"Red paint?" The Blitz team wondered aloud.

"To match the model!"

"Dad, where are you gonna get the money for a paintjob?"

"The prize money from before!"

"No!"

"No!"

"No!"

"What's the problem?"

The Warriors struggled desperately for a response. "Well, Doc, I don't think it'd be respectful of Sao to change its color." Bit concluded.

"Sao, you don't care about that, do you?" The Doc asked.

"Well, I do think red would be an unsightly blight on the Liger, and a paintjob for painting's sake would be a waste…" He paused, "If you scrape up my Liger's armor so completely that it needs a new paint job, you may as well paint it what you wish."

"Excellent. Wait, scrape?"

"Sounds good Sao!" Bit replied.

"That is _if_ you can scrape it."

"Trash talk huh?"

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Brad mused.

"This time, the Leena Special is gonna teach you some manners!" Leena nudged Bit.

"'I'd very much like to sample your skills." Sao replied.

"You're gonna regret those words!" Leena yelled.

"I regret them already!" Bit remarked.

SMACK.

* * *

><p>Another day, another battlefield. A flat plain, not a rock out of place. Rugged mountains stood perched in the distance, but they would be outside the bounds of the mode.<p>

Sao's Trinity Liger started a slow walk forward – the Blitz Team's Hover Cargo was just visible on the opposite side of the field, and the Judge had not yet arrived. The previous battle's swarm of reporters were, for once, nowhere to be seen, with one exception. The Pink Diloforce, of all Zoids, stood nearby.

Chuckling to himself, Sao approached it.

"Hi there!" The woman called out in her sing-song voice.

"Hello. Where is everyone?"

"Some are scrambling to meet deadlines for articles on your last battle, some are afraid you'll explode at them if you come, aaaand it seemed like a bunch didn't care. It's just a standard battle isn't it?"

"Heheh." Sao smiled happily, "I don't think I ever got your name miss?"

"Mary! Mary Genzinger."

"And what are you doing here Ms. Genzinger?"

"You never answered my question."

"I didn't really care to."

"I very much would like you to, though."

Sao sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I have been engaged before, yes."

"What happened?"

"That's a question I honestly don't know the answer to." Mary giggled. "Any more questions?" He asked, leaning on his right arm.

"No, I gotta get moving. Got two Zoids to get outta the way!"

"Two?"

"Ya! See there in the distance? That's my Gorhecks!" Sao looked – indeed, with magnification from the Trinity visual sensors, he could see the telltale spiked back of a Gorhecks, laden with quite an assembly of boxes and supplies. "The salesguy told me a long time ago that the fins could undo electric jamming or something, but I'd never used that. I just sling all my stuff over em!"

"Huh. Kept it even after all the business with your old boyfriend?"

"It wasn't Gorry's fault!" '_Gorry_?' Sao thought to himself. "It's half his fault, and half the stupid bitch's fault. I got my revenge on him, now there's just the bitch."

"Oh. Any idea where she is?"

"No clue. I only ever heard her name. Lee-something? He talked about her like she was the more sexy than sex."

"Lee-something?" Sao scratched his chin, "What was _his_ name?"

"Oh, I don't say his name in public."

"In public?"

"I only say it in private, preceded and followed by a series of rather vulgar expressions." Sao didn't need to see into her cockpit to know she was smiling at that sentence.

FFFFOOOOM! The Judge capsule hit ground. "Thanks for talking! Good luck!" Mary said, trotting off.

"Thanks!" Sao replied as the Judge gave the battlefield declaration. As he scanned the horizon for the Blitz Team's Zoids, he caught sight of another guest on the field. A large hovertruck with white backs and maroon jets. It was Alysia's. The truck slowly turned away, but the message was clear. She would be watching.

* * *

><p>"Ya ready for a straight-forward beat down?" Leena called from her customized gray Gun Sniper.<p>

"Don't expect to beat my Zoid twice." Brad grinned from the now-repaired Shadow Fox.

"One Liger to another, bring everything you got!" Bit cried out from the Liger Zero, again reverted to normal white armor.

"Count on it!"

"Count on it!"

"Count on it."

The Nova Team chorused back.

"Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Blitz Team versus the Nova Team. Battle Mode 0-9-8-2. Readyy? Fight!"

"Alright guys, all ahead. Slow." Sao smiled to his team. He pushed the Liger forward, at a brisk but not at all fast pace. The Houndsoldier jogged alongside.

"Man! It's been ages since I gone this slow!" Heiden joked.

"I can't remember the last time I was running on the ground!" Eura piped in cheerfully, running the Evoflyer forward. "Careful boys! I'm gonna run right past you!"

"In a line Eura! It needs to look organized!" Sao ordered.

"I'll take the front of the line then!" She giggled.

"They're sticking pretty close together Doc, I don't like it." Jamie mused.

"'Course not Jamie. Even for a mode as simple as this, Sao makea plans. It'd be more suspicious if we couldn't see him planning!" The Doc responded, rotating the Trinity model in his hands. "And it's not obvious that his plan is a good one."

"Alright Bit," Leena declared, "You just stay back, and I'll take 'em out from here. You can head right over the Hover Cargo if you like! The Leena Special's goin' in!" With that, she started the Sniper straight towards the oncoming Zoids.

"Well Bit?" Brad shrugged. "Shall we?"

"And get in the way of _her_ arsenal? No thanks! I'll deal with the aftermath."

"I like that idea." Brad nodded.

"C'mon you scumbags! Get some Weasel Unit Total Assault!" Leena yelled, letting her Sniper's weapon systems run wild.

"Alright now," Sao called as the flurry of missiles and laserfire approached, "Don't speed up, don't get fancy, but don't get hit!" He ducked the Trinity back and right.

"Got it!" Heiden rolled left.

"Roger!" Eura saluted as she flipped into flight mode.

The Zoids kept just ahead of the fire, like children running along the edge of a waterfront, and quickly rejoined, Eura returning to her ground form, as the fire subsided.

"Doc," Jamie observed, "Ya think he's trying to keep this straightforward?"

"Hm?"

"Coming right at us, with his entire team clustered, avoiding shots but keeping on course… Maybe he just wants a straight up showdown?"

"Very possible."

"Well in that case Doc," Bit cut in, "Why don't I switch into the Schneider and give 'em just what they're lookin' for?"

"Mm, yes Bit, go ahead. Try to keep the Liger together!"

"I always do Doc!"

"Not yours! The Trinity! My beauty will be unscathed one way or the other, and I'd prefer it to be the way we don't pay for…"

"Right…" Bit moaned as he moved back towards the Hover Cargo.

The Nova Team had kept formation and was now firing off the odd shot at the line of their two opponent Zoids.

"Sao? He's headin' back." Eura noted.

"Good."

"Shall we?" Heiden asked.

"Wait till it opens."

"Right."

Inside the Hover Cargo, the Liger Zero stepped into place between the twin modules of the CAS.

"Liger Zero, secured on the maintenance deck!" Jamie called over the com system.

"Engaging the system Schneider!" Bit declared, maneuvering the correct armor into place. Claws extended to adjust the Liger armor.

Outside, Leena's Gun Sniper fired spuriously at the Trinity Liger, which avoided contact through a series of zig-zag dashes. "What are ya waiting for Sao? Can't stand up to my Gun Sniper's weasel assault huh?" Leena cackled.

Sao fired a shot from his beam cannon, barely missing her legs. "Maybe I just don't need to compensate for horrible aim with millions of shots."

"What did you saaaay?" Leena burst with anger, running toward the offending Zoid, who continued his evasion, allowing Eura to fire off a shot at Leena's back. Brad ambled around delivering counterfire.

"Don't let 'em get to you Leena. Just hold out till Bit arrives."

"Aw, he'll finish everything!"

At that moment, the top of the Hover Cargo began to retract, and the magnetic catapult extended.

"Liger Zero Schneider – CAS complete! Moving the Zero Schneider to the catapult deck!" Jamie declared. The orange Schneider armor caught the occasional glint of light as it moved up to the catapult.

"Now?" Heiden called out?"

"Alright you two! Let's do this!" Sao replied.

"Goooooo Schneider!" Bit yelled as the Zoid sped off the catapult.

"Go! Go! Go!" Sao cried out.

The Schneider arced through the air, moving towards its targeted drop point, and prepared to wind up its legs following landing. Its claws struck the ground.

WHAM! The Houndsoldier slammed straight into the side of the Schneider.

"Whoa! What the-" And quick as it had come, it was gone. But not before-

BAM BAM! Shots from above – the Evoflyer had taken to the air and was raining down blows. The Schneider slowly started to move out of range, but the fire was heavy and unusually concentrated. And then, to top it off, the Trinity approached, charging straight forward, the Shadow Fox just visible, trailing behind.

"Hardened Alloy Claw!" The Trinity ripped into the Schneider armor, then ran straight past.

"Brad!" Bit cried, "What happened? I'm surrounded! Weren't you keeping them- Argh!" The Evoflyer resumed concentrated fire.

"I dunno!" Brad yelled back, "As soon as you launched, they all split! We couldn't keep up! Next we knew they'd gotten right to you!"

"Grr. If they think that'll stop us-" Bit shifted the Schneider's blades into position. "They're forgetting we're still a cut above!"

A blast flew straight into the right head-blade. Another scraped the hind-blades. The Evoflyer and the Houndsoldier were surging fire from two directions. "Urgh!" Bit withdrew the Schneider away from the two lines of fire, straight into the third – the face of the Trinity Liger, and its mounted cannons.

"I'll admit Bit," Sao began, "Your CAS is a magnificent device. It lets you switch between completely different Zoids, different strategies. And I wasn't prepared for that the last time." Bit dodged right, ran into the fire of the Hound Buster Cannon, parried left, was pelted by AZ assault rifle fire. "Problem is Bit, the CAS system has one constant – the drop location. Either you come out nice and slow from the side, or you jet out to one pre-defined location from the top. And when I know where you're going…" The Trinity charged its signature gold cutter. "I can get there first." The Photon Cutter ripped into the Schneider, and left only sparks in its wake.

"Blitz Team, unit 1, out of the battle!" The Judge proclaimed.

"Y-you're kidding!" The Doc exclaimed.

"Grrr! You want a constant? I'll give you a constant stream of firey death!" Leena yelled, targeting the cluster of three Zoids, and firing. "Weasel Unit, Total Assault!" The resultant blast smoke obscured the field,

"You know, Leena," Leena gasped – Heiden's voice. "From one former sniper to a Gun Sniper pilot, you should really consider reeling in your shot count…" The Houndsoldier had made it to the Gun Sniper's rear. "And making your shots actually count." A single blast from the Hound Buster Cannon drilled straight into the Zoid, sending it toppling into the ground.

"Nooo! Not again!"

"Blitz Team, unit 2, out of the battle!"

The Nova Team members advanced on their final adversary. "You're looking a bit worried, Brad my friend." Sao called out. "I've faced 3 on 1's before – it's not that bad."

"He's right you know." Heiden remarked, subtly cutting off Brad's escape route.

"'Course, when I do 3 on 1, the mode helps me out a bit. Guess you can't count on any of that today hm?"

"Uh, Doc. I think I'm gonna throw this one." Brad declared.

"What? No! You can't give in Brad! Think of the money! Think of my Liger!"

"Oh, I'm thinking about it. It's pointing at least 3 beam cannons right in my face."

"Brad!" The Doc whined.

"Go ahead Brad," Jamie sighed. "I can't see a way out of this one. No sense raising our repair fees."

"Judge, I forfeit the match." Brad declared. "See?" He called out to the Blitz Team, "Told ya you wouldn't bring me down today." The groups laughed.

"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is… The Nova Team!" The Judge decreed.

* * *

><p>Sao opened a channel to the Blitz Team cabin. A petrified Dr. Toros answered. "… The money's mine! You can't have it!"<p>

"Doc, wait!" The screen was switched off. Sao couldn't help but smile.

"Congratulations, Nova Team, on your win! Until the next battle!" The Judge capsule announced as it took off into the stratosphere.

The screen lit up again. "Sorry about that, guys." Jamie replied nervously. A depressed, possibly physically restrained Doc was visible in the background.

"Hey, good battle there, Sao!" Bit's voice came over the intercom.

"Hardly. I think this rivalry needs a few more to get to any true satisfaction!" Laughter from the Teams.

Then static.

Sao squinted – an interfering signal. "Josef? Eura? What is this signal? Can anyone get a read on it?"

"From the mountains." Josef declared.

"I remember these wavelengths…" Eura mused. "They're just like…"

A face appeared and a message accompanied: "The area within a 1000 kilometer radius is now a Neo Backdraft Battlefield. All unauthorized personnel will be destroyed!"


	13. Chapter 13: None

Chapter 13: "None"

"That voice…" Sao thought aloud.

"Sao!" Heiden called, "Isn't that the guy who fought us in the Dark Spiner?"

"Jihnera…" Sao recalled.

"Sao," Jamie called, "What's going on?"

"The Backdraft…" Dr. Toros concluded.

"Something's off though." Heiden mused.

More beeping from the Trinity Liger console – a new message was inbound. Sao raised an eyebrow, but answered the call.

"Nova Team!" An old man whose eyes were covered with green shades appeared on the screen.

"Silvereye?" Sao asked, "What's going on here?"

"There's not much time!" He looked distraught. "My plans to introduce alternative modes to the Backdraft caused a schism. Jihnera's split from the group, and formed the Neo Backdraft. He's coming for you all, and then he'll go straight for the Commission itself! His goal is nothing less than complete chaotic revolution!"

"That's idiotic. What about the Commission's orbital cannons? He'll be wiped off the face of the map! Crap! We better get outta here…"

"They can't hit what they can't detect. He's brought Dark Spiners. He's going to overthrow the Commission through electronic warfare!"

"Spinersss? Did you say?" Heiden asked furtively.

"At least 10! We'd been manufacturing some after our last battle, and apparently he ramped up production behind my back!"

"Saooo?" Eura shivered as she asked.

"You need to stop him Sao! He views you and the Blitz team as his greatest enemies! And that's not all! He has a newewrrrrrrrr..."

"Silvereye?" Sao called as the image turned to static.

"Sao?" Jamie asked, "What's ggogingggrrrr-"

"Pulse!" Sao called out.

A blue electric wave spread from the mountains, straight for the Zoids. The Trinity controls surged and its screens went black. Not missing a beat, Sao restarted the Liger and started calling to his teammates.

"Heiden? Eura?"

"Sssssssas-ao?" Heiden's voice came in scratchily.

"It's started. Tell the Blitz Team!"

"Thhhhrrr still nt- up!"

"Dammit, they haven't fought this way before! Get up next to them! We'll shout if we have to, but they've gotta restart their systems!"

"Sao!" Eura yelled, "The radar's catching static again!"

"Again? Already?"

"He did say ten of em." Heiden groaned. "Damn! How are we supposed to launch an offensive if we can't even talk for a single-"

Again, from the mountains, a blue pulse went out. Sao could feel a rumble in the air. The screens began to fill with static again, but then, a humming sound! A purple glow saturated the nearby air. The static gradually lessened and the system stayed active. As he verified this on all his screens, Sao caught a new Zoid on his local radar. Looking to the position he saw – a purple Gorhecks, which had left several assorted boxes in a trail behind it, and whose back crystal panels shone brightly. A smiling Mary opened a com-link.

"Hey! I guess it works after all!"

"Great job Mary!"

"Uh, Sao?" Heiden asked.

"How come our radar's up?" Eura questioned.

"Our old acquaintance, Mary Gezinger, of Heart Warrior Magazine, has provided herself with an interesting new article to write, and provided us with a solution to our problems."

"Sao?" Bit's voice. "What's happening over there?"

"Bit, the Backdraft is coming at us with electromagnetic weaponry! You gotta get used to restarting your Zoid."

"Huh? I don't turn off my Zoid. Do I partner?" Low groaning from his companion Zoid. "Ah, still hurt are ya?" He patted his controls, then turned to Sao, "Don't worry Sao, I'll get the word out to Doc and the others."

"Way ahead of ya Bit." The Doc called out.

"Doc!"

"Whew! I haven't restarted the Hover Cargo in… Jamie when did we last restart the Hover Cargo?"

"The point, Doc!"

"Oh, the point, yes. Sao, We've had some experience with the Backdraft before."

"That makes two of us, and I think combining our forces could do us all good."

"I've never seen weaponry of this sort though, even from them." Doc mused.

"Electromagnetic weaponry, Dr. Toros. A brutal weapon we used to be hard pressed to defend against. But Ms. Gezinger's Zoid has the unique capability of disrupting their signals."

"Mm, but if I recall," The Doc reached into a drawer, and removed a Gorhecks model, "The range of the Gorhecks anti-pulse signal is about 5 kilometers at best. I wouldn't count on even that from something this… old." He said, looking pointedly at the out-of-sorts Gorhecks before them.

"Hey! Gorry's just a little worn out is all!" Mary yelled back.

"He's right though." Sao mused. "We can't maintain the shield and mount an offensive at the same time."

"But Sao," Heiden called, "Their EMPs wear them down too. Any non-Spiner units would be affected, not just ours. We can lead in a strike team, even without the Gorhecks!"

"But to what effect Heiden? We aren't equipped with a Zoid that can actively engage in electronic warfare! We need another, faster Zoid to clear up the airwaves."

The Doc snapped. "Did someone say electronic warfare?"

"We've been saying it for the last five minutes, Doc, why?" Jamie asked.

"Bit! It's time!"

"Time for what Doc?" Bit moaned.

"The X!"

"The X?" Jamie wondered aloud. "Wait, you mean that useless, gold spiked-"

"That useless gold spiked armor was specifically designed for electronic warfare. It's perfect!"

Sao leaned his head down – the shine returned to his eyes. "Alright then. But the Liger's still damaged from the battle!"

"I'll get in the Raynos and drag it in!" Jamie called.

"No time!" A female voice. Sao looked up. The rest of the warriors looked round, confused.

A white and maroon hover truck slid into the area, and the view of a woman of dark red hair, a white top, and a cold business face came up on screen. Sao smiled.

"And, who are you miss?" Jamie asked.

"Just an entrepreneur looking for a place she's needed. Mr. Toros?"

"Mm yes?" The Doc leaned instinctively toward his screen.

"My truck is equipped with some basic repair tools. Help this team dispose of the Backdraft, and we'll get the Liger Zero back into your CAS in a half hour."

"I'll get out and help!" Bit called.

"Me too!" Leena responded.

"Guess that means me." Brad moaned.

"No Brad, you're going with us." Sao replied.

"Hm?"

"We'll run the mountains and hold off the Spiners until the Liger Zero is ready. We'll need all the help we can get, since the rest of your team will be doing the repairs.

"Uh, Doc am I getting paid for-"

"Brad!"

"Brad!"

"Brad!"

His team members chorused.

"Fine, fine. Alright Sao, let's get to it."

"Wait." Alysia commanded – Sao felt the command was directed straight at him. "Sao's Trinity Liger should stay here to protect the Liger and the Gorhecks while the others go out."

"Good call." Sao replied. "How's that sound to you Dr. Toros?"

"Alright, but let's get to it! We haven't got much time before the Spiner's swarm us! Jamie, ready the CAS to engage the Liger Zero X!"

"Got it Doc!"

"I'll relay the situation between our two teams from here."

"Wait!" Brad called, "Their passive interference will disrupt communications even without sending out EMP blasts! How are we gonna communicate?"

"Use these." Alysia responded, opening the back containers on the rear deck of her hovertruck. Inside revealed 3 sets of laser-based communication arrays.

"Directional communicators." Heiden recognized.

"What blocks your line of sight may now block your communication arrays, but it's better than going in blind. I trust you'll get used to it." Alysia smirked.

"Oh, no problems there." Heiden smiled.

"Shall we begin then?" Sao asked the group.

"Area scanned!" Eura responded, reaffirming her radar functions.

"Battlefield set-up!" Heiden continued.

"The Blitz-" Doc started…

"-Nova team…" Alysia finished.

"Versus the Neo-Backdraft." Bit called as he left the Liger cockpit.

"Battle mode: none." Sao decreed. "Reaaaadyyy?"

"FIGHT!"

"FIGHT!"

"FIGHT!"

"FIGHT!"

"FIGHT!"

* * *

><p>"We need to get in close range! As long as we're out here, they can use their blasts with no repercussions!" Heiden declared.<p>

"Well excuse me for not being able to run at 300 kilometers per hour!" Brad replied, already trailing far behind the Houndsoldier and the low soaring Evoflyer.

"Don't worry. The fastest one here is actually Eura. At full speed, she outclasses us both."

"Heh, wow, I never thought of it that way Heiden!" Eura noted.

"They'll probably hit us with another blast before we can get close, but that'll send down most of their ranged weaponry, and they won't wanna leave the cover of the mountains if they can help it, so we should be safe. As soon as you restart, Eura, get in there at all costs! Don't get hit, but hold as long as you can. I'll follow second and Brad will bring up the rear. You can relay messages between us from above if the cliffs start interfering."

"Heheh." She giggled.

"What?"

"You're sounding more like Sao every day."

Heiden smiled. A blue glow built in the mountainsides. "Alright, here it comes!

* * *

><p>"They've been hit by another pulse." Toros noted. "How's it going down there?"<p>

"Wow, these tools are amazing!" Bit cheered.

"They're available for a price." Alysia replied, not taking her eyes off her work.

_Ever the promoter._ Sao thought to himself. Ever _since when we first met… She doesn't seem to be like that around me these days though. Huh._

"Less talking more fixing!" Leena yelled at Bit.

"Yes mom." He groaned.

"We'll finish right on schedule Dad!" Leena called.

"Turn around the Hover Cargo, Mr. Toros." Alysia commanded, "We'll want the CAS as close to the Liger as possible when it gets walking."

"Sure thing Aly!"

"Alysia if you please." Sao stifled a laugh. "Oh and Mr. Toros?"

"Yes?"

"Once you finish installing the Liger Zero X in the CAS, I have another proposal, regarding Ligers."

"Oh? A new armor for the Zero?" The Doc's eyes glowed.

"A new armor. But not for the Zero." The Doc raised an eyebrow. "And it could be yours, for a price."

* * *

><p>"Eura? You alright? How many are there?" Heiden asked.<p>

"Just one here, but it's no pushover!"

"I'm almost to the mountains! Hang in there! Brad?"

"Gimme another minute!"

"Keep calm. I'm entering." True to his word, Heiden reached the mountain edges and slowed slightly as he advanced down the right path of two such roads into the cliffs. "Eura? Eura?" No response. "Damn, she's too low into the canyon to receive the signal." He caught sight of an unusually gentle slope. "Guess I'll get higher up!" He drove the Houndsoldier up the slope and right to a premium view of the Evolflyer, in direct combat with the Dark Spiner. Her rifles and the Spiner's 144 mm machine guns had put them at a stalemate.

"Brad? Can you hear me?"

"Almost there Heiden!"

"Take the left path into the mountains, and get your trigger finger ready."  
>"Got it."<p>

Heiden moved down straight for the Dark Spiner, shooting towards but not for the Spiner, which backed out, away, and left. Straight into-

BABABAM! The Shadow Fox's Laser Vulcan bore into the Spiner's rear legs. Down on its legs, the Spiner looked to back out the way it came, and found itself facing the Houndsoldier. "You could always take a few shots and run in the resulting dust. That way you could at least prolong…" The Spiner ran for the Houndsoldier, brandishing its Electron Fangs. "Or that." A choice shot from the Hound Buster Cannon sent the opponent Zoid down.

* * *

><p>"That's 20 times the prize money for a Zoid Battle!" The Doc yelled.<p>

"It's a very special armor." Alysia responded over the com.

"Doc," Jamie called from the maintenance deck, "I'm almost done on the X!"

"If not today, Mr. Toros, you may never have another opportunity to see it." The Doc scratched his chin, glimpsed the payment window Alysia had brought up on his computer, and took a deep sigh.

"Ms. Alysia, I-"

"It comes with a super-high speed gattling gun."

The Doc's jaw dropped, and his eyes watered.

* * *

><p>"What the-?" Brad exclaimed. All around the three Zoids, which had now assembled in a clear valley in the mountains, an assembly of Dark Spiners stood. "I thought he said 10!" Brad clenched his teeth, as he moved the Shadow Fox to cover the left side of the group.<p>

"He did." Heiden looked closely at his more-than-ten opponents. The Dark Spiners moved into position but did not fire back. "They're fakes."

"What?"

"I doubt they could produce this many in such a short time. And they aren't attacking us. They're probably little more than skeletons. The real one's here somewhere though…"

"How do we find him?" Brad asked.

"Just gotta watch. The one with the good stuff won't be engaging with the rest." Heiden scanned the perimeter, through wave after wave of Dark Spiners, each baring claws and facing forward. Their eyes glowed, as they mounted a slow advance.

"Heiden!" Eura cried. "The back!"

There, behind the others, one Dark Spiner began moving slowly away.

"That's it!" Heiden pushed through the other units, which attempted to claw him. The Shadow Fox vulcan drove them back, and the shear speed of the Houndsoldier pushed them down. Eura moved over the assembly and started firing at the true Dark Spiner in the back, which quickly made a run back into the mountains. The Hounsoldier pursued, and found its mark, driving the Spiner into a cliff wall.

"Heiden, behind you!" Brad called.

A blue glow enlightened Heiden as to what was behind him.

* * *

><p>"Whew!" Jamie wiped his brow. "All finished here Doc! The Liger Zero X is ready for departure."<p>

"Great! Great. Uh Jamie, I have another job for you."

"Huh?"

"There's still one empty compartment in the CAS right?"

"Dooc…"

"Oh come on! We need everything we can get here!"

"Doooc!"

"It's the Backdraft! We can't pull any punches!"

"Oh Doc…" Jamie laid down on his back. "I'm gonna need some more help here."

"Not a problem! The others are nearly done!"

"They better be…"

* * *

><p>"This better be a joke!" Brad called.<p>

"He thinks you're joking." Eura relayed.

"No I'm serious!" Heiden replied from behind the rock cover he'd barely managed to escape to before he was hit by the last pulse. "We need to cut off all out weapons. Make them think they got us. And when we have them in sight, caught unawares, we blast them out of the sky."

Eura relayed Heiden's message.

"Can we even survive without projectile weapons?" Brad replied.

"It's easier than ya think." Heiden answered. "Move behind the mountains. Eura's in the most danger of being seen. Don't fire back!"

"Got it!" Eura replied.

* * *

><p>"Alright Doc! She's ready to walk!" Bit declared.<p>

"Get her into the CAS quickly!" The Doc responded.

"Doc, I'm not done yet!" Jamie called.

"Bit, the Liger's still not at full strength, take your time." The Doc continued. "Repair as much as you can before we engage the CAS."

"What? But you just-"

"You heard the man." Alysia stated, as she drove the back half of her truck, remotely, into the CAS deck.

* * *

><p>"Now!" Heiden called. Explosions from all three sides caught the backs of three unsuspecting Dark Spiners.<p>

"Whew! Never thought I could go without shooting for so long!" Brad called, as the three Zoids continued out into the open for fast communication.

BLAM! BAM! SLAM! Laser fire from a far-off ridge. The three darted back to cover. "Can anyone see those?" Heiden called.

"Death Stingers!" Brad replied. "Enough cannons there to blow up the mountain."

"Wouldn't wanna be hit by that would we?" Heiden grinned as he prepared the Houndsoldier to enter.

"What are you doing! You're gonna get destroyed!" Brad yelled.

"Maybe in a slower Zoid. But all I gotta do is never stop moving." He pushed the throttle forward. "Cover me if you can!" He dashed through the cliffs, with fire inbound. The Death Stingers, however, never seemed fast enough to touch him.

"Where does he get these strategies…" Brad thought aloud. Eura giggled.

* * *

><p>"Sao, are those things coming toward us?" Mary called out. On the horizon, an assembly of Dark Spiners proceeded towards the Hover Cargo.<p>

"Hm, they aren't firing. And those panels look off. Must be the fakes Heiden was fighting." Sao concluded. "Doc, tell Heiden the fakes are getting through."

"Really? You're sure they're the same fakes?" the Doc asked. The Trinity Liger's beam cannons rallied a couple shots toward the procession, downing a few Dark Spiners in the process.

"Yeah. Shouldn't be a problem, just keep him as updated as he's keeping us."

"Roger that." The Doc replied, turning to the inter-team communicator.

"Heiden, the fakes are getting through!" The Doc's voice.

* * *

><p>"Well, the Death Stingers aren't!" Heiden replied through grit teeth.<p>

"Death Stingers too?"

The Houndsoldier finally reached the cliff where the three Death Stingers were perched. They ambled around to try and face him, but the Houndsoldier was too fast. It slammed into them, knocking one over the cliff, one on its back, and sticking the last one down directly.

"Nah, I don't think they're going anywhere."

"Heiden…" Brad called.

"Hm?"

"I'm not seeing double am I?"

Heiden looked down to the lower valley. There was not one, but three black Shadow Foxes approaching each other.

"Brad," Eura called down, "Stay still. I'm gonna shoot."

"What? You'll hit me!"

"I won't. I'm aiming for the area between you three. Soon as I hit, you scramble."

"Get away?"

"No, get closer. In between if you can. Get among them."

"Ah I get it… No need to fire Eura! I think I have just the thing."

"Oh? Alright Brad, give it to them!"

"Here we go!" A cloud of black smoke burst out of the Shadow Fox and Heiden caught it running towards its counterparts. Heiden smiled, and crouched the Houndsoldier, lowering its center of gravity so he could provide better cover fire.

* * *

><p>Spiner skeletons went down left and right, but the group slowly advanced toward the Hover Cargo.<p>

"Dammit, there's no end to em!" Sao declared. "But there should be a beginning…" He looked out towards the mountains, toward where Heiden and the others had gone in. Only then did he notice – the Spiner skeletons weren't coming from there. "Doc, relay this to Heiden. The Spiners are coming in from a narrow canyon to the east."

* * *

><p>"I see it!" Heiden called back. From his high vantage point, he could just discern a canyon parallel to their battlegrounds. "How're the Shadow Foxes you two?"<p>

"Done and done!" Brad replied.

"Alright. Sao's found out how the Dark Spiner knock-offs are getting past us. There's a canyon that cuts straight through the mountains a few kilometers east of here. You two retrace our steps out, and enter the canyon from the end closer to Sao and the others. I'll go in via their end and make trouble."

"You gonna be alright as the lone-wolf there?" Brad asked.

"Won't be the first time."

"Won't be the first time."

Heiden and Eura replied together, to laughs.

"I feel like I missed out on a whole series of interesting battles."

"You should tell Sao that. He'll be happy."

* * *

><p>"Liger Zero, secured on the maintenance deck!" The Doc announced.<p>

"Alright partner, let's take her for a spin." Bit smiled from the cockpit. "Engaging the system X!" He maneuvered the armor known as X into place, and robotic arms began assembling the armor.

"The Liger Zero X…" The Doc beamed, "A CAS specifically designed for electronic warfare. Its stun-blades and electron drivers are just the thing to mess with an opponent's control of the airwaves. And the gold and blue paintjob is pretty snazzy to boot!"

"But outside of electronic warfare, its largely useless and possibly illegal in Commission battles…" Jamie moaned.

"Stop complaining! We're using it today!"

* * *

><p>Blue flashes from the canyon. Waves of fake Dark Spiners went down along with the assault team. "Sao!" Heiden called as he reactivated, "They're mixing in the real Dark Spiners now! They don't even care about their skeletons! We could use some backup!"<p>

"Backup you got!" Bit yelled back. "Goooooo X!"

The gold spikes of the Zero X flashed out onto the field, its 208 mm shock cannon sending Spiner skeletons flying away like brittle rocks.

"They're winding up again!" Brad called out, seeing the telltale blue glowing.

The text ELECTRON DRIVER PULSE appeared on Bit's screen. "Let's see how ya like my Electron Driver Pullllsse!" The gold spikes aligned on the Ligers back, and a massive radio wave sped out from its back. The very air rumbled with electromagnetic radiation, but as the Warriors confirmed, their systems stayed active.

"Great job Bit!" The Doc affirmed.

"I'll take the rest of em down now!  
>"Wait Bit!" Sao called.<p>

"What's up?"

"There are more Spiners coming out of the original mountain route now. They're gonna spread out and surround us! Move towards them, with the pulse. Don't engage in one spot too long, or they'll just go around you!"

"Aw." Bit replied less than enthusiastically. He straightened up quickly though, "You got it, Sao!" He turned the X away from the canyon and toward the newly emerging Dark Spiners.

"See Doc? Useless today too!" Jamie crossed his arms happily.

"That's not true!"

"Doc?" Sao asked.

"What is it Sao?"

"I'm getting a bad feeling here. We still haven't seen our friend Jihnera yet. Ask Heiden if he can confirm that."

"Right. Heiden, have you found Jihnera yet?"

"No, but we've almost cleaned out this canyon." Heiden replied, "There shouldn't be many Spiners left, according to Silvereye."

"Could we have downed him already?" Brad asked.

"Not his style." Eura replied, "To go down without some drama."

At that point, a long, low cackling sound pervaded the air.

"So nice to know I'm wanted."

"Jihnera!" Heiden replied. "Where are you?"

"Right here." Heiden saw – at the other end of the canyon. A zoid with black painted legs and head protruding from a torso decked in chrome. Jihnera continued, "I brought a new toy to play with you all. I do hope you'll enjoy it as much as I will."

"Enjoy this!" Brad called, firing his Vulcan.

The Zoid dodged almost faster than could be seen, and fired back a dark, glowing, distorting shell at the Shadow Fox – it hit, and the Fox's shoulder blade burst into sparks.

"Arrgggh!" Brad cried out.

"Hahahhahaa! My super gravity bullet cannon fires ultradense shells. What it hits suffers the effects of an artificial black hole, and collapses upon itself."

"You always did like unethical weaponry." Heiden replied.

"There's more to the Descat than a lack of ethicality, Heiden."

Not waiting to find out what he meant, Heiden moved back out toward the plain. The Descat pursued, faded into a blur as it approached. "Holy shit…" Heiden's eyes widened.

"With a top land-speed of over 400 kilometers per hour, the Descat is one of the fastest Zoids ever built!" Its fanged charged with electromagnetic discharges and it prepared to rip into the Houndsoldier. Smash!

Just in time, Heiden reached the far canyon walls and dodged right – the Descat hit the wall and caused a collapse, trapping himself inside.

"You can't hide away forever!" Jihnera yelled.

"Sao!" Heiden called, ignoring him.

"What's the diagnosis Heiden?"

"He's fast… Faster than me! The fastest I've ever seen… I don't know how I'll keep up with him, much less hit him!"

"No need to worry about that Heiden." Alysia replied.

"Hm?"

"Sao's got the hitting part covered."

"Well, Sao? What's the plan?" Heiden asked.

"Trust the lady." Sao smiled. "She hasn't steered me wrong before."

"Wait, you know her?"

Sao cleared his throat. Alysia smirked. "Long story." He replied.

With a great, dark blast, the Descat broke through the collapsed rubble. "This will be the last Zoid you ever see!" Jihnera called to the group.

"Don't listen to him Heiden, he's wrong." Sao replied.

"I'm hoping you have a plan to back up those words."

"Well, let's put it this way, the plan involves us seeing at least one more Zoid. Hold him off! Make him come to you so you can strike at him! Eura, blasts from above! I'll be with you shortly!"

"Got it!"

"Got it!"

The Descat fired its Dual Barreled Impact Cannon. Houndsoldier moved, barely dodging, not approaching the Descat. The Evoflyer shot down, not nearly close enough to hit the fast running Descat. It shot back with its Gravity Cannon, barely missing Eura, as the bullet ripped up the air behind it.

The Descat rushed the Houndsoldier. This time, a dodge wouldn't be so easy. Heiden moved right at the last second, but the Electromagnetic Attack Claws nicked him, and sent him flying into the ground.

"What could you possibly be waiting for that keeps you from getting on your knees and begging for mercy?" Jihnera yelled.

"I'm waiting on my King." Heiden replied.

* * *

><p>"Trinty Liger, secured on the maintenance deck!" Doc announced as Sao moved the Trinty into position by the CAS.<p>

"Let's get our new outfit on." Sao grinned. "Engaging the system, Burning Armor!" He moved the new armor package into position, and the CAS activated.

"Burning Armor!" The Doc chanted, "As if the Trinity wasn't beautiful enough! An Anti-Air Cannon, Micro Missile Pods, ultra-powerful Dozer Claws, and a Super High-Speed Gattling Gun! This thing is a demon! A beautiful seductress, how could anyone resist!"

Jamie groaned into his arms.

The transformation completed, and the Trinity Liger found itself decked out like never before, most prominently with a large gattling rifle on its upper shoulder. "Trinity Liger CAS complete!" Jamie announced, "Moving to the catapult deck!"

"Let's show him what we're made of." Sao said as the Trinity ascended to the top of the catapult. "Burning Armor!"  
>The Zoid launched into the battlefield.<p>

"What's this? A new armor, how cute." Jihnera mused aloud. The burning armor shot a few test fires with its still-attached Twin Beam Cannons. "Shame it won't be hitting anything today!"

The Descat took off.

Sao gripped the trigger for the gattling. Slowly, the barrels revved up and a loud humming filled the air. Sao clicked the trigger. A blaze of blue gattling fire crossed the field. The cockpit computer screen reticule slowly homed in on the Descat until the text "TARGET SYNC" appeared. BAM! A strike into the side. RAM! Into the leg.

"What? How is this possible!" Jihnera yelled.

"The Burning Armor Super High-Speed Gattling is designed to attack high speed opponents." Alysia explained, to Sao and the Doc, as much as Jihnera, "It uses a computer targeting system to sync up to and adjust for the enemy's land-speed, whatever that may be, and fire appropriately."

"And runnin at that speed land-speed," Sao continued, "You can barely turn, much less dodge." The shots rained down, and soon, the Descat's front legs were ripped and the Zoid was tumbling into the ground. Sao pushed the Burning Armor forward. Its newly reinforced claws surged with energy.

"This can't be! This is the strongest Zoid in creation!" Jihnera yelled.

"A strong Zoid is formidable. But adaptability, strategy, and determination, always win the day. Dozer Claw!" Sao ripped into the Descat like he'd never ripped before. The claws pounded the Descat down and drove a rain of blue sparks upwards. Split in three and laden with smoke, the Descat fell.

* * *

><p>Sao took a long breath, and smiled.<p>

"Sao," Bit's voice, "I just brought down the last Dark Spiner! How're things over there?"

"Not bad, Bit. Not bad at all."

"Wonderful display Sao!" the Doc called out. "That armor is just perfect for the Trinity!"

"Well, perhaps it's fitting," Alysia interjected, "That it stay there."

"What?"

"You hadn't given up the agreed amount for the last battle you lost, if I recall." She smirked.

"Were you- how did you? You weren't even there!"

"I was. I watched the whole thing from the outskirts. And if I recall, my armor sold for just about the amount you would've had to give to the Nova Team." Alysia grinned.

"Uh, guys! Help me out here!" The Doc called to his team members.

"Why Doc? Seems reasonable to me." Brad responded. "Like we were ever gonna see that prize money in the first place…" He muttered.

"C'mon doc, it's not like we could use most of those parts." Bit continued.

"But Bit! We could put those Dozer claws on the Schneider!"

"Would they be that much more effective than the Buster Slash?"

"Uhhh…" Doc turned to Brad, "Brad, we could put that gattling cannon on the Shadow Fox!"

"Doc," Jamie replied, "The Shadow Fox isn't designed for a large sustained recoil. It'd tip over with that thing on it!"

"But, but!"

"I could take the gattling!" Leena exclaimed.

"Okaaay, the Nova Team can keep the armor..." The Doc collapsed in his arms.

Sao chuckled, and was about to tell the Doc he didn't care, when a text message arrived on his console. "Late Happy Birthday. -Aly" Sao looked at his benefactor, and somehow, even though she'd already climbed back into her truck, he knew she was looking back.

"Attention all Zoid units! Attention all Zoid units!" A male voice rang out over the area, "This is the Zoid Battle Commission. Please maintain your current positions. Commission units will be entering the field to pacify the area and arrest the perpetrators for possession and usage of illegal weapons." On the horizon, a towering white Ultrasaurus, surrounded on all sides by white Command Wolves, advanced onto the field.

"Heh, welcome to the party!" Bit chuckled.

"Mr. Ensiné!" A transmission bearing the same voice went out to Sao. "Your statement was read to the Commission higher ups yesterday." Sao smirked. "As a potentially open act of rebellion against the Battle Commission, protocol dictates that you are to be arrested, pending on a full apology and retraction for your statement."

Sao nodded and after a long breath, responded. "I understand. I will not retract my statement, and come willingl-"

"One moment, Mr. Ensiné. In examining the statement and your battle records, not to mention the battles today, I have been instructed to read you a response."

"Oh. " Sao smiled. "Well sir, if it's feasible, I'd like for everyone to hear this response, my teammates at least."

"Certainly." The signal became public, and the representative read: "Sao Ensiné, your point is well made. For every mode removed from the Zoid Battle Commission's active repertoire, we lose a small part of the dynamism that makes Zoid Battle so compelling. However, if we were to allow this thinking to extend to its logical conclusion, that all modes should be preserved indefinitely, the Commission truly would find itself devoting an inordinate amount of its resources to the sustenance of modes that may legitimately be outdated, underused, or uninteresting. For this and other reasons, your advocacy for the cessation of mode removal as a function of the Zoid Battle Commission cannot be assented to."

Sao put his head down. "However," the man continued, " It is also clear that the Commission lacks a way to reinitiate modes whose intrigue would be beneficial to the collection of modes actively used. And it is arguably true that the Commission does not do enough to incentivise the usage of non-standard battle modes. Oh…" the Man seemed to find a footnote of some kind and searched around for the appropriate passage before continuing, "Addendum: in light of today's recent events, it is also substantively clear that non-standard modes still have significant utilitarian use as a training method for unprecedented and unusual situations in battle, which is of great interest to the Commission." Sao grinned.

"In conclusion, the Zoids Battle Commission would like to offer you, Mr. Ensiné, not only a pardon from the infractions potentially incurred by your statement, but a grant for the construction and at least 3 years of upkeep on a new Zoid battle sub-league, whose sole purpose shall be the promotion and assessment of unorthodox battle modes. In the process of running this League, you will be allowed and encouraged to experiment with now-defunct modes, with our permission. Should you find modes which are particularly captivating, they will be considered for reintegration into the Battle Mode Active Canon. An offer of this degree to a non-commission Warrior is without precedent, Mr. Ensiné. We look forward to your response. Signed, the Committee for Advancement of the Zoid Battle Commission."

"Well how about that Sao?" Heiden called cheerfully, "That worked out didn't it? Sao?"

Sao tried to speak, but found no words. He had the distinct impression he was crying, but he didn't know why.

"Sao, are you alright?" Eura asked.

Sao's tears blended into laughter. "I dunno guys. Running a league is a big job. I'm gonna need some assistants who know other battle modes if I'm gonna do it without losing my mind." He smiled as he never had before. His chest felt so light it could float away. "And I know you two love the battle scene… But… Heiden? Eura?"

"Yes, Sao?" Eura replied.

"Hm?" Heiden grinned.

"How you two feel about an early retirement?"

"What? To join you an make an entire new Zoid battle league?" Heiden said almost mockingly. "Hell, that's not an early retirement! That's a whole new, harder job!"

"That a no?" Sao asked.

"You kidding?" Heiden laughed and Eura joined, "When do we start?"


	14. Epilogue: Paradigm Shift

Epilogue: Paradigm Shift

ONE YEAR LATER

Sao and Alysia parted lips. He was dressed in a sharp, clean jacket, black, white, and red to match the crimson gem in his silver ring. She wore a simple dress, of white and aquatic blue, to match the sapphire jewel on her golden ring.

"You'd better go dear. The world's waiting out there."

Sao stepped back. Down the sparkling new hallway, out the bright door, the roar of a crowd, an actual assembled crowd, rang through the air. Their faces couldn't be discerned in the light, but their voices sang with passion, excitement, thrill.

"The world can wait another minute." Sao said, turning back to Alysia for another kiss.

"Sao?" Heiden's voice came over the local communicator, "Are you making out with your wife again?" The couple broke. "Save it for tonight! We're getting started over here!"

"Be right there." Sao replied, and began walking down the hall. His wife watched him down the whole way, until his silhouette disappeared into the light of the stadium. Eura's voice announced his arrival.

"…all been waiting for, your host and organizer, fierce Warrior, and soon to be fiercer-Judge, the man of a thousand battle modes, Sao Ensiné!"

Sao ascended into one of three glass and steel podiums, each stationed at a corner of the arcing crowd stands surrounding the vast expanse of field below. Metal tiling lined the battle area, retractable, to facilitate the deployment of materials for the appropriate battle modes. Compact, yet bright lights lined the rim of the battle area, and dimmer, blue ones lined the top of the stadium itself – matches would not be limited by the time of day. But today, midday, the bright blue sky shown overhead.

The crowd roared.

"Welcome warriors and spectators, here today, and watching around the world, to the first battle held at the Nova Zoid Battle Stadium!" Sao began. The cheers were so loud, he figured the day would end before he could introduce the mode. He took the opportunity to get the less exciting elements out of the way. "We'd like to thank our sponsors. To the Ensiné Corporation, which generously volunteered to assist us in acquiring the land on which to build this Stadium. I assure you my name factored little into their decision." He chuckled to himself, though the audience was still cheering too much to hear, much less care, "To Café 0944, whose enthusiastic staff and delicious comestibles have supported us from the beginning and whose vendors are walking down the aisles now! I urge everyone to try their new Curry Cake – it is delectable. And finally to the Zoids Battle Commission, for their tremendous support and generous monetary grants which have allowed us to come before you today!" The cheering died down just enough to understand that the sponsors weren't that important, and then revved up again.

"Today's battle mode," The stadium went silent, "Is one that has not seen sanctioned use in over a century! You shall bear witness to its return to the Zoid Battle world!" The Stadium gave a raucous applause. "In the spirit of the old battle modes, we will be reviving an ancient tradition. You may have been wondering why there are three podiums scattered around the Stadium today, why there is no robotic judge present. Ladies and gentlemen, today and for almost every match at this stadium, humans will serve as your judges, as was custom in the oldest of Zoid matches." Polite clapping, as these facts had already been divulged elsewhere.

"Your judges today, to the left, Mr. Heiden Aeross!" A certain group of female fans shouted with glee. "At right, Ms. Eura Curae!" A separate group of male fans coo'd joyously at this. "And finally myself, Sao Ensiné. Decisions by us will require a majority rule. Our judgment may at times seem to lack mechanical precision, but it will incorporate a human's reason!" Sao smiled, knowing this was an innovation he found more interesting than most would, wondered how long it might stay practical, even within his own stadium, but didn't wonder too long; he wanted to savor the now, this moment he had only imagined for so many years prior.

At last he spoke. "Your competitors today," At this, Heiden activated a lift, which split a part of the stadium and lifted up an assembly of 3 highly customized Cannon Spiders. "The Arachno Team, and…" Another level pulled and across from the Arachno Team, a certain Elephander unit, a Storm Sworder, and a Madthunder. "  
>The Neophander Team!" Roars of approval for both.<p>

"Those of you at home will soon be seeing the rules of this battle mode displayed on your screens. Those here will see them projected onto the glass displays build into each row." Excited muttering as rows of monitors build into the stands began lighting up. "Without further ado, we begin the first match of a new age!" Sao bowed, and Heiden and Eura followed. The crowd lost its sanity and must have spent a half-minute in impossibly loud applause.

At length Heiden put his hands up to signal the beginning and the crowd managed to contain itself.

Eura declared: "Area is scanned. Battlefield set. The Arachno Team vs the Neophander Team."

Heiden continued. "Battle Mode 0-7-2-5, code name, 'Paradigm Shift.'"

Sao looked to all sides, to the combatants below, to his friends beside him, to his wife, who waited behind him, and took a breath of the image he'd realized.

"Readyyyyy?" The crowd surged. The combatants wound up. The world held its breath.

"FIGHT!"

~THE END~

After an entire year, my work draws to a close. I hope I was able to capture some of the best parts of the series while adding something good of my own. Thanks to everyone who supported me all this way, especially those who left anonymous reviews to which I can't respond personally – your advice was truly appreciated.

If you liked what you read, check the fullsize cover image and more art at Deviantart, username Densetsu27. If you like animation, check some films of mine under the youtube username okamirpg27, and the newgrounds username rpgsrok. And if you're just down to chat, hit me up on twitter, account name: Densetsu_VII.

The world is waiting, so get out there, make your way, and FIGHT!


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